Lt. Matt Underhill will lead the Tahoe substation of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Photo/Provided

By Kathryn Reed

Young, active, outdoorsy and practically a native. Those are some of the attributes of the next lieutenant to run the Lake Tahoe office of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

“I don’t really foresee changes,” Lt. Matt Underhill told Lake Tahoe News. “I want to continue the legacy of Les (Lovell) and Pete (Van Arnum) and keep strong community ties and listen to the needs of citizens and respond accordingly. They are who we work for, who we should be listening too.”

While Van Arnum retires at the end of the month, Underhill won’t actually be in the Tahoe office for at least six months, maybe a year. He will be working on the West Slope, training for his new position.

He was just recently promoted to lieutenant, having been a sergeant in the Tahoe office. (Lt. Bryan Golmitz will be in Tahoe until Underhill takes over.)

“It’s important to have someone from Tahoe in this position,” Van Arnum told Lake Tahoe News. “He has the right temperament to be a good leader, the guys respect him, and he’s real approachable.”

Underhill moved here when he was 1, then went through the local schools. He started his law enforcement career in San Diego in 1999 with the sheriff’s department and then moved to that city’s police department. In 2002, he started with EDSO. He wanted to come back to live in the mountains and raise his children here.

“Tahoe is my hometown. I plan to finish my career here,” Underhill said.

What he likes about the sheriff’s office is the variety of responsibilities the department is responsible for — including narcotics, SAR, boat patrol, all crime in the county and even vacation rentals.

At 37, he is the youngest lieutenant to lead the Tahoe substation. This could open opportunities for further advancement. In the 1980s Tahoe had a captain; now they are all in Placerville.

With the promotion comes the removal of Underhill as commander of the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team. A sergeant from EDSO is expected to take over those responsibilities later this month.

While Underhill is now well versed in narcotics, it’s search and rescue where his passion lies.

“Search and rescue is close to my heart because I’m passionate about the outdoors,” Underhill said.

Skiing, mountain biking and rock climbing are the favorite ways for him to play outside.