Dear Sir or Madam,

Much thought was given to the idea of forming Texas EquuSearch. There were suggestions that I should start a Horse Search and Rescue Team since I had two horses of my own. I shared this idea with some of my horse friends and was amazed at all the positive interest and support I received.

Our 1st officer meeting was in August of 2000 and then the work started, which I never realized how difficult forming an organization like this could be. After one year, we are proud to say that we are still working harder than ever to help bring home loved ones who are missing. Since Texas EquuSearch was formed, we have been on over forty searches, in one short year. We take missing persons very serious.

Now, my own personal loss, I know how important a search and rescue team can be. My daughter, Laura Miller was abducted in September of 1984. I went to the police department to report her missing and file a missing persons report. Five months prior to Laura's disappearance the remains of a young lady named Heidi Villareal Fye, were found on some property at an abandoned oil field on Calder Road in League City, Texas. I told the police officer taking the report of my concerns, and would they please check the area where she had been found, or tell me where it was located so that I might check myself. Of course they said Laura is sixteen, she ran away and will be coming back home. We called and drove to all of Laura's friends to see of anyone had seen her. Three days went by and I found out that Heidi had only lived 4 blocks from our house. So I went back to the police station to tell them my new worries about the close location of our houses and could they go and check the field where Heidi was or please take me to where it was located. Again they said Laura was sixteen and she had run away so we should go home and wait by the phone for her to call.

The days turned into weeks, weeks into months, several trips to the police station and still no Laura. Seventeen months later, kids were riding dirt bikes on Calder Road when they smelled a foul odor. They felt as though it was a dead animal but walked over to the area of the odor to see anyway. The odor was not a dead animal; it was in fact the remains of a female who had been there approximately two months. The police were called out to investigate, and during the investigation stumbled across the remains of yet another female some sixty feet from the other. These remains of the other girl found were those of my daughter, Laura Miller. The remains of the other girl found there have not been identified to this day and still is only known as Jane Doe.

These were by far the most frustrating and lonely seventeen months of my life and there was some feeling of relief when Laura was found, at least now we know. I often think of what would have changed back in 1984 when Laura disappeared, if there had been a Texas EquuSearch. Would Laura have been found alive? Probably not, but she would have been found and there probably would have been some evidence on the scene to help the police in the investigation. Would Jane Doe have been murdered? My thoughts--probably not or at least not at that spot.

We could stay in the what ifs-what if we had searched that field, what if we had had a search and rescue team, but we can also grow from these unfortunate (to say the least) events. Let's grow way beyond that and see what a positive effect Texas EquuSearch can have on our community and all the surrounding communities in helping to change the way we handle missing persons.

As of now we have just over twenty-five hundred members, and we are proud of our growth in such a short period of time. Our goal is to grow many times over and serve more and more communities so no family has to experience the feeling of hopelessness and loneliness if a loved one should ever disappear.

In order to continue growing and helping to serve people in need, we need your help. We need more members. You can become part of our team even if you don't have a horse. We need ground searchers, 4-wheelers, pilots with helicopters, phone help, office help, and mapping help. We are also asking for donations to help us survive and be able to grow and serve any one in need. Texas EquuSearch is a nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

I thank you for taking the time to learn about us and consider helping Texas EquuSearch to grow and better serve your community.

Respectfully,

Timothy Miller, Director

Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team