Austin, Texas –TEXSAR: Texas Search and Rescue will host an informational meeting for citizens interested in joining their ranks. The meeting will be Saturday, March 11, 9:00 a.m. at the Sunset Valley City Hall. The informational meeting will explain what it takes to become a member of TEXSAR. Areas of membership include Ground Search and Rescue, Flood and Swiftwater Technicians, Incident Management, Disaster Response, Wildland Firefighting, Medical Team, as well as Non-Field Support Roles. There is a...
Austin, Texas –The Annual TEXSAR Team Meeting and Training Weekend took place February 3, 4, and 5 at McKinney Roughs Nature Park in Bastrop, Texas. More than 75 TEXSAR Team Members from across the state convened at the park for a full weekend of classroom training, field training, food, and fellowship. Training topics such as K9 Searches and Support, Technology in Search and Rescue, Tracking, and Wilderness First Aid were just a few of the courses conducted over the weekend. The...
Austin, Texas – We are proud to release our Annual Report for 2016. 2016 turned out to be a busy year with 48 missions from the Gulf Coast to far West Texas. TEXSAR member-volunteers who were on scene to assist will forever remember incidents like the Caldwell County Hot Air Balloon Disaster and the search for ZuZu Verk. We pride ourselves on being in a constant state of readiness. We are geared up and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, trained...
Austin, Texas – TEXSAR is pleased to announce the 2017 Board of Directors. Reelected to serve on the Board are Shawn Hohnstreiter (Austin), Chairman; Justen Noakes (San Antonio), CEO; Jennifer Failla (Austin), Vice Chairman; Brandon Goering (Cedar Park) Secretary/Treasurer; Dr. Tyler Jorgensen (Round Rock), Medical Director; Chief Sean Ford (Sunset Valley); Dawn Keller (Odessa); Joe McComb (Corpus Christi); Ed Norman, (Galveston); and Bill Sleep (Austin). New members to the Board include Jackie Dobson (Austin); Justin McInnis (Kyle); and Deke Pierce (Austin). Greg Fair...
K9 handler, Jennifer Blanton, and Travis County Fire Rescue attend to the K9’s during a search on October, 30th, 2016 in southeast Travis County, TX. Austin, TX — Skeletal remains were discovered this weekend by TEXSAR cadaver dogs. At the request of Travis County Sheriff’s Office, TEXSAR, Texas Search and Rescue, was tasked with searching an area off of Maha Loop in southeast Austin. The search area was determined after officials received a tip that indicated 33-year-old Paul Michael Longoria,...
Alpine, Texas – On Tuesday, October 18, 2016, the Texas Rangers called the TEXSAR, Texas Search and Rescue, Emergency Activation Line and requested search planning assistance for the Zuzu Renee Verk missing person case in Alpine, Texas. Ms. Verk, a student at Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas, was last heard from Wednesday, October 12. Dozens of TEXSAR team members from the Gulf Coast, Coastal Bend, Central Texas, North Texas, and West Texas, converged in Alpine to work in coordination with...
TEXSAR: Texas Search and Rescue is honored to have received a donation of 20 EpiPens in the form of ten two-packs from leading pharmaceutical company, Mylan. This critically important donation is valued at approximately $5,750. Mylan is, “one of the largest generics and specialty pharmaceutical companies in the world, manufacturing and marketing more than 1,400 different products to retail, wholesale, government and institutional customers.” The EpiPen is used to treat severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) to insect...
2015 was a milestone for Texas Search and Rescue. We are pleased to announce the publication of our first annual report, which you may view by following this link to ISSUU, or this link to SlideShare. A conservative estimate of volunteer hours contributed by TEXSAR member volunteers during 2015 is 20,850. If we multiply that figure by the value of a volunteer hour according to the State of Texas, TEXSAR donated more than half a million dollars...
TEXSAR is honored to have received a generous contribution from the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF). The following article was written by Rich Gergasko, President & CEO of Texas Mutual Insurance Company and a member of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Texas/Southeast Division Board of Directors. IICF Campaign Helps Flood Recovery in Texas “During a time when Texans are typically gearing up to fend off the oncoming extreme heat, this year, much of the state experienced damaging storms, tornadoes and flooding. After...
September 22, 2015 For Immediate Release TEXSAR: Texas Search and Rescue Has Reached the GuideStar Gold Level Profile as a Demonstration of Its Commitment to Transparency Austin, Texas – TEXSAR: Texas Search and Rescue today achieved the Gold GuideStar Nonprofit Profile level. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information about nonprofit organizations and a leader in advancing transparency in the nonprofit sector. This level demonstrates TEXSAR’s deep commitment to nonprofit transparency and accountability. “We have worked hard to showcase our progress toward our mission, and our long-held belief...
