Tragic Texas flooding event is winding down, with two victims still missing

The specially-trained human remains detection (HRD) canines, their handlers, a team leader, search specialist and a logistics specialist — will be returning to the Bay Area today.

The members of California Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Force 3 (CA-TF3), sponsored by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, have spent the last three weeks in the Texas hill country looking for victims of this tragic flash flooding event.

The number of recovered victims currently stands at 137 with two people still missing. The team has worked in hot, humid, swamp like conditions with variable weather, continued threat of flooding with required multiple search approaches, using various techniques.

The team has operated from helicopters and small boats using human scent to identify sub-water surface searches. Primarily, they have searched miles of the riverbanks and in the riverbeds, where they searched small and large debris piles, vehicles, parts of structures, trees, and islands.

The local team has searched large areas and targeted specific locations. They’ve performed primary and secondary search operations where they started at 5:30 am to beat the heat and ended each day being decontaminated, then caring for the animals and preparing for the next days methodical search assignment.

They have mostly worked the Guadalupe River area between the communities of Kerrville and Comfort in what is known as Division Bravo and Charlie. They were always watchful for vectors like scorpions, water moccasins and cotton mouth snakes.

Battalion Chief Mike Stahl, with the Menlo Park Fire District and the team’s leader, praised the strong sense of community exhibited by the Hill Community. He further noted “our focus is always on maintaining a positive attitude and being focused on our mission to bring closure to all of those we can, affected by this tragedy.”

Many of the search and recovery resources supplied by up to 25 other States have already been released, after working long days for the last three weeks.

The recovery efforts will continue, using locals and other State resources, who are strongly committed to finding the last two victims.

Harold Schapelhouman is the retired Chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.