"It was in fact very startling to me to discover that the mandate for SAR volunteer work is to search for the lost, for free, and that we could stomp through the wilderness for a hundred miles and find the person, then be turned away by them... But, you can't pre-emptively waive it."

That is interesting.

I suppose that if I wasn't lost, or needing help, and didn't call for it, I might have to politely decline being rescued. I'm sure I'd be startled by the attention though.