Texas EquuSearch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2008)

Texas EquuSearch (TES), formally the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, is a 501(c)(3) non profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to the search for missing persons. It has increasingly become involved in high-profile abduction cases, including that of Natalee Holloway, working through local law enforcement agencies^[1]. TES is headquartered in Dickinson, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

TES was founded in August, 2000 by Director Tim Miller after the abduction and murder of his daughter, Laura. It was originally conceived as a volunteer group to assist local law enforcement personnel in searching the vast areas outside the city of Houston for missing individuals. While the group has relatively few permanent members, many thousands of volunteers have since assisted in searches throughout the United States and in other countries^[2].

Volunteers are typically trained on the spot when a search is necessary. The expectation is that volunteers know how to use the equipment they bring with them, whether that is a horse or a FLIR equipped helicopter. TES has gained a reputation as a well-equipped organization which can deploy resources such as radar, sonar, dive or dog teams, and vehicles ranging from ATVs to boats to aircraft to remotely operated vehicles on short notice.

[edit] Notable Searches

Natalee Holloway: Unresolved. As of November 2007, TES is redeploying to Aruba for a deepwater search.
Jessie Davis: Resolved. Boyfriend, Bobby Cutts Jr., has been charged with two counts of murder.^[3]
Acres Homes Searched in wooded areas for possible bodies that has been the scene of recent body dumping.^[4]^[5]