Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Friends of TEXSAR, Hurricane Harvey was the costliest disaster to ever strike the United States, bringing with it record flooding and catastrophic winds along the Texas coastline. Texas Search and Rescue answered the call from agencies all across Texas, providing more than 700 volunteer hours by 85 members who rescued over 700 people and pets from Harvey floodwaters. Immediately following Hurricane Harvey, the 2nd annual TEXSAR Search Party fundraiser took place on September 30th where TEXSAR members and supporters...
On Saturday, January 25, 2014, TEXSAR assisted law enforcement during the search for Leanne Hecht Bearden, 33, who had been missing since the previous Friday when she walked away from a residence in Garden Ridge, TX. Working closely with Garden Ridge Police Department, Comal County Sheriff’s Office, Texas DPS, and the Texas Rangers, TEXSAR planned and conducted operations throughout the day that involved over 150 people from 18 agencies and Search and Rescue teams from across the state and...
When severe weather moved through the Central Texas region last week, TEXSAR was called upon to help those in need. For 5 straight days our members answered the calls to help their fellow Texans by conducting swiftwater rescues and participating in search and recovery efforts to help bring closure to families that tragically lost loved ones to the floods. Notable Callouts Included: Swiftwater rescue of motorist in Onion Creek flood waters off of I-35 access road. Support Hays County EOC swiftwater rescue efforts. Supports...
From July 3rd to July 7th, TEXSAR and TMAR deployed to Galveston County to assist with Operation Safe and Sound from for the holiday weekend. Personnel from both groups were integrated into the operation in support roles as force multipliers for emergency responders in Jamaica Beach, San Luis Pass, and Crystal Beach as well as working in positions with the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s Office. In addition to...
Chief Nim Kidd of TDEM addresses the class. On April 18-20, 2013, search and rescue instructors from TEXSAR provided training for our partners in the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment (TMAR). The class this year had 65 members and included two full days of classroom and practical training followed by a night operations exercise on the evening of Friday the 19th and a full-scale exercise on Saturday the 20th. On Sunday, TEXSAR members were recognized by the Commanding General, Brigadier General...
On Saturday, October 27, nine TEXSAR members traveled to Bryan, TX to assist Cen-Tex SAR during a 200-person Search and Rescue training exercise at Lake Bryan. TEXSAR members fulfilled the roles of Incident Command personnel and canine flankers during the large exercise, which included the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment, Bryan Police and Fire Departments, Texas Department of Public Safety, and many other units and agencies to see how well multiple groups can coordinate and work together...
TEXSAR held training at Russel Park on Lake Georgetown over the weekend. The team held exercises covering Search and Rescue elements including navigation, grid searches, clue detection, patient packaging and extraction, communications, water rescue, and Incident Command. All-volunteer group trains in rescues: kxan.com ...
This weekend, TEXSAR members Shawn Hohnstreiter and John Michael Gibbs completed the final processes in gaining apprentice instructor status for vertical rope rescue and flood and swiftwater rescue. The new instructors join TEXSAR member and instructor Mark Baumann as the training cadre for TEXSAR’s vertical rescue team and flood and swiftwater rescue team. Regarding the achievement, Instructor Hohnstreiter said, “This represents the growth of our search and rescue team and our commitment to the community. We can be sure our technical...
