They came to thank Texas—when it’s Texas that should be thanking them.
The Oklahoma City Metro Search & Rescue Team has just returned home after two exhausting deployments to the flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country. Over the course of more than 180 hours, they pushed through debris and devastation, walking over 60 miles and logging more than 60 working hours with their search dog, Mila.
And in the middle of all that, they left us a message of gratitude.
They thanked the strangers who took them in. The fire crews who fought side by side with them. The dog lovers who donated cooling mats and booties for their K9 partners. They even thanked the property owner where K9 Siri lost her beloved ball.
💔 But perhaps the most haunting words they wrote were dedicated to the three still missing:
“To Cile Steward, Jeff Ramsey, and Michael Phillips—you will not be forgotten.”
And to the families enduring the unbearable, their message was even more devastating:
“We gave everything we had on that river. We searched every area as if it were our own loved ones who were missing.”
So, to the heroes of Oklahoma City Metro Search & Rescue—we see you. We thank you. And we hope the rest of Texas does too.
