Since Tim Miller founded Texas EquuSearch in 2000, the mission has been to bring missing people home. Photos by Beverly Kehe-Rowland

We spent a few days in Maryland at the home of our daughter and a few in North Carolina with our son’s family. We also stayed a week in Virginia Beach and another at a mountain resort in Massanutten, Virginia. We then spent a few nights in hotels before staying a week in Lago Vista, Texas. From there we headed to San Antonio to see the Riverwalk and the Alamo. Our final destination before heading home was to visit friends near Galveston on the eastern side of Texas.

I think 10 years ago when my husband’s high school classmate, Sharon Van Tassel, began inviting us to visit when we next traveled west, she was envisioning a two- or three-day visit. We had intentions of visiting her sooner, but it never worked out. So, instead of waiting until the heat of summer passed and because we had three weeks of expiring timeshare points to use, this was the year.

It started with a conversation when we met in Tennessee in September. Since Sharon and Chuck had plans to go away for a week or two in late January, we texted several times in December and early January about when we might arrive. When my husband was having a difficult time deciding, Sharon assured us they could be flexible. We kept extending our arrival date as we traveled. Our hostess-to-be asked for our food preferences, where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see while we were in their area.

As we were winding down our last few days of exploring Texas Hill Country, I asked our friend if she could make a dentist appointment for Fred because he was having pain. A few days later I asked if they had a mechanic who could charge our AC. Then I texted her on Saturday to let her know we were close, when they were not expecting us until Sunday. During the last 40 minutes of travel, I read Chuck’s written instructions to Fred as I followed the map he had drawn to steer us away from Houston, the way the GPS would have taken us. I fully expected to see a “No Vacancy” sign on their garage door when we arrived, but instead they were smiling when they opened the door, not too long before their bedtime.

An astronaut’s suit on display at Houston Space Center.

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Sharon catered to us and kept telling us to make ourselves at home while asking if there was anything we needed. They invited their kids and spouses one evening and we were impressed with each one. We were also impressed with Chuck’s skills. The man can build or fix everything and the work he has done on their home exhibits this.

If one of them has a passion for something, they pursue it and give their all to do it right. Sharon has a passion for selling and could sell snowballs to an Alaskan in the middle of winter. Although she had no experience and knew little about cars, she applied for a job at a car dealership during a slow season in January. She was home raising their children and wanted money to do fun activities with the kids. On her next visit to the dealership, she told of her love of selling and how she had sold since she was a child. She suggested she try to sell and offered to work for no pay unless she sold a vehicle. She sold a car on the first day after four days of training. She soon was earning Salesperson of the Month. After many years on the job, she has a box full of plaques that honor her as Salesperson of the Month as well as some for Salesperson of the Year. She actually sold 38 vehicles in one month.

A replica of a space shuttle is open for touring.

TOURING TEXAS

Each day during our visit, Chuck got up at the crack of dawn. Sharon followed an hour or so later and they patiently waited for us to rise. We were chauffeured in a different direction every day by Chuck in his very high King Ranch truck. One of our first stops was at the Kemah Boardwalk on the Gulf Coast. There we found some shops, a marina, amusement rides and a restaurant with a two-story aquarium.

When we rode on the Galveston-Bolivar Ferry we had the bonus of watching dolphins swim nearby. Although we have ridden on several ferries, I’ve never noticed sea gulls swooping and diving as they look for their next meal like they did behind this vessel. The free ferry service runs around the clock connecting Galveston to the Bolivar Peninsula, nearly three miles away.

One of our other outings was made possible by the Van Tassel’s daughter, Sheila Orrenmaa, who invited us to stop by the Texas Equusearch (TE) Headquarters in Santa Fe, Texas. TE partners with law enforcement agencies to bring missing people home. They have worked almost 2,700 cases, with 444 found alive. Sadly, many of their cases are deceased, but they are able to give loved ones closure.

Sheila’s involvement with TE happened after a high school friend was abducted while vacationing in another state, leaving her with a feeling of helplessness. Thirteen years later, when a young girl named Laura Smither went missing while jogging in a neighboring town, Mrs. Orrenmaa did what she couldn’t do for her friend.

“A search was being conducted and I thought, I can do that, so I volunteered to help search for her,” says Orrenmaa.

While searching she noticed a man who had been observing for a long while. She approached him and introduced herself in an effort to learn his identity and why he was watching intently.

“He said he was Tim, Laura Miller’s dad. I thought I heard Laura Smither, the missing girl and thought ‘no, you’re not,”” she explained. “I was just with Mr. Smither in the command center.”

The searcher then found a detective to speak with Mr. Miller. She later learned his daughter had been abducted and murdered in 1984. When he reported her missing, he was told by law enforcement she was likely a runaway and would come back home in a few days. Seventeen months later, Laura and three other women were found in what is now known as the Texas Killing Fields. Miller learned of the discovery of the women’s remains when he read his morning newspaper. A visit to the local police department revealed there was no open case on his daughter and they had not been looking for her.

Tim Miller founded Texas EquuSearch in 2000, which began as a horse-mounted search and recovery team.

“He never wanted a family to go through what he had,” says our friends’ daughter. “Shortly after Laura Smither went missing, Jessica Cain went missing and Tim and I both searched for her. He unearthed the human remains of Jessica in 2016. Her murderer was also responsible for the abduction and murder of Laura Smither”.

Orrenmaa states Texas EquuSearch has foot and ATV searchers, a dive team and boats and kayaks with side scan sonar for water recovery. They also have individuals who volunteer their services and their helicopters when needed. The search and recovery group has cadaver dogs specifically trained to search for human remains.

“When searching, we use whatever resources we have available and as needed: cameras, flock cameras, license plate readers and cell phone data and aqua eye, underwater robot and ground penetrating radar. Drones with thermal imaging and color recognition are other tools used to search,” she adds. “We have an amazing group of volunteers from all walks of life. We are Moms, dads, friends, strangers. We have found some of our members loved ones and others are still missing.”

Nine years after joining Texas EquuSearch, Sheila Orrenmaa was put on the payroll. Her responsibilities are varied, including general administration and office duties, processing search volunteer applications and scheduling volunteers and intake coordinators. She still searches by foot and ATV and does water recovery.

After 42 years, the founder’s twenty-two-year old daughter’s alleged murderer, Clyde Hedrick, was indicted and arrested just last week. Hedrick was, also, indicted for the murder of Audrey Cook. Since his arrest, he took his life while under hospitalization, but his case was presented to the Grand Jury in order to bring some closure to the families. Ms. Miller was abducted on September 10, 1984 and Cook’s family last heard from her in December 1985.

Although Texas EquuSearch works primarily in Texas, they will support beyond state lines when their resources allow.

After leaving TE headquarters we stopped at the Texas Killing Fields in League City where the remains of about 30 women were found over several decades. Ron Howard was one of the executive producers of a Netflix documentary “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields.” Books have, also, been written about the 55-mile stretch of Interstate 45.

Because Kate Willis grew up a few miles from League City, her life has been affected by the Killing Fields and caused her family to be extra cautious. She remembers when her car had a flat tire her father told her to keep driving that he would replace the rim. Today Kate serves as Chief Violence Against Women Assistant District Attorney for Galveston County.

SIGHTS ON SPACE HISTORY

One of our last adventures was a visit to the Space Center in Houston. The home of NASA, Mission Control and the International Space Station Mission Control is situated on 1,700 acres which has a total of 200 buildings.

It was difficult to know where to start when first entering the huge open area of the visitor’s center. We decided to start on the left and work our way around the circular space, which is a museum of space travel. Any curiosity one might have is addressed, including the often-asked question of how the astronauts go to the bathroom. Glass cases display suits like those worn by astronauts. Smaller cases showed various items, including the foods they ate, such as rice ball with salmon, chicken in Russian nutmeg sauce, roasted quail and omelet layer cake with tomatoes and herbs. If the danger of an astronaut’s job wasn’t enough to deter me, the diet would be. The toilet might be a close second.

After looking at the exhibits, we took the tram to Mission Control Center where we were in a mock-up of the center. The recording of Neil Armstrong’s voice took my husband and I back to July 20, 1969, when as young people we watched the lunar landing on TV. From Mission Control we toured a replica of the Space Shuttle Independence and the actual shutter carrier aircraft. The jetliner, built in 1970 was used by American Airlines as a commercial plane. After it was acquired by NASA in 1974, all unnecessary furnishings and insulation were removed to reduce weight. The outside was fortified and mounting struts were added to carry the weight of a shuttle. During the 30 years of the Space Shuttle program, the jetliner flew all but 17 of the 87 ferry missions for a total of 11,017 hours flown. There have only been two female shuttle commanders.

Before leaving Space Center Houston, we stopped at the gift shop to use the penny press.

Even though our two or three day visit with the Van Tassels lasted eight days, we hated to leave. But since they travel around the US to escape the Texas heat each year, it made it easier to know we will see them on our side of the country soon.

To be continued.