(Hunt) The sun hits hard, and the storage hooves make the bushes crack while it climbed a hill near the Guadalupe river, Texas. On horseback, a group of neighbors travels the banks in search of new victims of the floods that have already left more than 100 dead.
Michael Duncan, 55, is the owner of Ranger, a dark brown horse with which he participates in the research efforts carried out by hundreds of rescuers along the Guadalupe river, in southern Texas.
This boat rescuers on Monday, supported by divers and probes, are looking for bodies near the Christian holiday camp for Camp Mystic girls, where 27 children perched by the flood. Another group picks up residents’ affairs: suitcases, beds, trunks or toys that have remained in the huts invaded by water and whose walls are covered with traces of mud.
At the same time, around thirty volunteers on horseback, several of them protecting themselves from the sun under their cowboy hats, joined the mounted police from Austin, the capital of Texas, to support rescue operations along the river, in the county of Kerr.
Photo Eli Hartman, Associated Press
Volunteers on horseback participate in research near the Guadalupe river in Ingram, Texas, after the floods.
Horses easily climb the hills and easily cross the vegetation and the debris left in the open when the river water is returned to its bed.
“Emotional debt”
“Compared to walking, we can cover more grounds and access areas where people cannot go so easily. Obviously, with him, I have the advantage of the height ”to observe from afar, explains Mr. Duncan about his mount.
Whether on foot or on horseback, the rescuers are watching for the foul odors who emanate from vegetation and debris. They can come from fish and other dead animals. But they can also be a sign of a tragedy with a name and a first name.
They search the earth accumulated near the trees. One of them stings with a pointed stick the mounds of earth, attentive to the slightest index revealing the presence of a corpse. During their research, they discover swimming glasses belonging to a child, as well as a football ball.
They communicate with Tom Olson, 55, trainer of rescue dogs and owner of Abby, a Malinese Belgian shepherdess who has already found two bodies.
Photo Eli Hartman, Associated Press
Boat rescuers, supported by divers and probes, are looking for bodies near the Christian holiday camp for Camp Mystic girls, where 27 children perched by the flood.
This 8-year-old dog is “a useful instrument, such as submarine sonars, drones, planes,” said her master.
In addition, adds Mr. Olson, making dogs work reduces the exhibition of rescuers to the dangers of the field, such as snake bites, and accelerates the discovery of corpses.
But this task also involves “a mental, emotional debt,” he says.
Meanwhile, in Hunt, teams from an electricity company restore the posts and the cables carried by the floods. The week begins, and the cars fill the avenues. The river has regained its bed, and gradually life resumes its rights in the city.
Since his muddy bank, Mr. Duncan admits to feeling “a lot of sadness” during his patrols on horseback. “But it’s also great to see so many people go out and work, and almost everyone does it for free. It’s very inspiring ”.
