[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF TEXAS EQUUSEARCH MOUNTED SEARCH & RECOVERY TEAM AND ITS 
                    FOUNDER, TIMOTHY (TIM) A. MILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NICK LAMPSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Tim Miller and the 
Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team (TES).
  Since Tim had horses of his own, and given a rash of missing persons 
in his area, many people suggested that he should start a horse search 
and rescue team. Tim shared this idea with some friends and was amazed 
at all the positive interest and support received.
  The first official TES officer meeting was held in August of 2000 and 
then the work started. Tim, and his faithful and incredibly supportive 
wife Georgeann Miller, never realized how difficult forming an 
organization like this could be; or that it would require giving up his 
business as a general contractor to devote himself full time to the 
founding and operation of TES. Two years later, I'm proud to say that 
Tim and his all-volunteer TES team are working harder than ever to help 
bring home loved ones who are missing.
  Since Texas EquuSearch was formed, they have been on nearly one 
hundred searches in two short years. They have an admirable record of 
working constructively with our nation's local law enforcement agencies 
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As these words were being 
written Tim and TES are on still another search near TES's headquarters 
in Dickinson, Texas.
  TES was founded in loving memory of Laura Miller, Tim's daughter. The 
success rate of TES in finding missing people and returning many of 
them home alive is truly impressive. It is a living tribute to the 
spirit of Laura Miller. That spirit is alive and well in every 
volunteer of TES. The following words are Tim's own:

       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.

  Mr. Speaker, the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search & Recovery Team, was 
founded in loving memory of Laura Miller by her father Timothy A. 
Miller to search for our nation's missing and abducted children and 
adults. It has received help from the citizens of Houston, the State of 
Texas and the United States to successfully search for and find the 
lost, abducted, and missing. Our nation's communities and law 
enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
have already recognized the significance and value of the Texas 
EquuSearch Mounted Search & Recovery. It is now appropriate that the 
People and the Congress of the United States of America applaud and 
urge on Texas EquuSearch to continue forward--assuring that ``The lost 
are not alone''.

                          ____________________