Three years have passed since Texas State University student Jason Landry mysteriously went missing on his way home to Missouri City for winter break. Authorities found Jason’s abandoned vehicle with signs of a solo collision and personal belongings on a rural road in Luling, a town approximately 30 minutes southeast of San Marcos. Disappearing without a trace, Jason’s parents have no definite answers about what may have happened to their son. Despite time moving forward, Search Dog Network located in Bryan participates in ongoing searches to one day identify or locate Jason.
Search Dog Network is composed of a specialized team of search and rescue professionals who train, certify and deploy their search dogs to locate missing persons in the state of Texas and beyond with canines certified in air-scent, human remains, trailing and water. The 501 tax-exempt organization has volunteer members of all educational and professional backgrounds working towards their mission of completing successful canine searches, a call to action felt by every team member. Bringing closure to families lost in these overwhelming situations is at the core of the search and rescue canine organization, Teresa Medearis president of the organization says.
“We all want to bring the missing home,” Teresa says. “It's very important to us to be able to do that… My team members impress me every day with their dedication and how much they care about what they do.”
Chuck Fleeger is an Amber Alert Partner and former College Station Police Department staff member, who promptly calls Teresa with dispatch to get her canine team operationally ready in the event of a missing person. The searches are conducted anywhere from three times a month to none and never on a standard schedule. Covering the entire state of Texas and beyond, Search Dog Network is always on standby for law enforcement and can quickly answer Amber and Silver Alerts thanks to Chuck as a direct contact.
“Anytime something's going on, [Chuck] jumps on the phone and calls, so we're always ready to go if someone disappears or they need help,” Teresa says.
Depending on the urgency and status of the case, Search Dog Network can deploy a canine team very quickly.
“Normally, if it's a human remains search, as a rule, we'll have anywhere from a couple of days to three or four we
eks before they want us to come out,” Teresa says. “But we do have some that say we need you now, just because of either weather conditions or the possibility of loss of evidence.”
With extensive certifications in emergency training and prior experience in the field, Teresa says she wasn’t exactl
y sure what she was getting herself into on her first time meeting with Search Dog Network. Teresa’s husband had an employee at the canine organization at the time, who convinced her to come out to a training after completing a search and rescue certification for her previous job.
“It was just a, ‘hey, get her to come out and see what we do,’ and I never left,” Teresa says.
A standard search team consists of a handler, a dog and a search technician, also known as a flanker. Teresa recalled her first canine partner, Noggin, a brilliant, full-blood Malinois, who taught her the essentials of search and rescue in the field as a previous Task Force dog, owned and handled by Mary Haislet, a former member of Task Force and Search Dog Network until she retired from the field.
“She was way smarter than me,” Teresa says with a laugh. “She taught me how to search, and she'd get away with as much as she could — she was a wonderful dog.”
Her current canine partner, Gator the Australian Kelpie, was fully trained by Teresa and picked up from the Aggieland Humane Society at 1 year old. Three other canines at Search Dog Network are also from the local shelter and had what it took to make an intelligent search and rescue dog as puppies.
“Our team is very public and community-oriented, and I think that's what drives us to bring the missing home,” Teresa says. “We know what dogs can do, we understand their abilities and a lot of people don't realize how good dogs are at what they do.”
Dr. Kim Stewart is a practicing veterinarian in College Station and a Search Dog Network team handler with a particularly sharp black Labrador Retriever named Seamus, which loosely translates to detective. Using his keen skillset, including a certification in water search, Seamus has located 10 people, two of them located in bodies of water. Seamus is one of the program's strongest, most accurate dogs and finished his entire training in four short months, just before he turned two years old. Kim explained that although her canine partner performs brilliantly, the process looks different for everyone.
“The hardest part of all of this is finding the right dog,” Kim says. “You have to find a dog with a high drive to perform and identify the reward that will encourage them to do that job every time you ask.”
Kim says the entire organization is predominately run by women. She also notes that, currently, each handler in Search Dog Network is a woman, uniformly paired with male canine partners. All the dogs on Search Dog Network live at home with their handlers as personal pets and companions. Nevertheless, pups and handlers willingly go out into the field together as canine units oftentimes being placed in high-pressure and exacting environments, Kim says.
“You have to have a tough hide to do what we do,” Kim says. “This isn’t for the faint of heart.”
As the days have turned into years, Teresa and her team still make regular trips to Luling to look for answers about what may have happened to Jason. Weather permitting, the search unit plans to participate in another search in March. Although Search Dog Network remains committed to finding answers to Jason’s case, Teresa says that every day presents her team with something new in her 13 years with the organization.
“No two days are ever the same, and I enjoy it,” Teresa says. “Every search is different. If you don't learn something on one, then you weren't paying attention. [As long as] I've been doing it, I still learn something every time I go out.”
Despite a valiant effort from each team member to respond to search requests, they also must juggle their day-to-day jobs, and some deployments can significantly stretch Search Dog Network's resources. In response, the team recently decided to begin hosting an annual all-call for trained flankers and those interested in becoming certified in search and rescue.
The recruitment event is anticipated to take place in May, with an exact date to be determined. The team plans to post applications on the website with more details of the job description and application process. They are also in high need of tracking and base communications specialists. Anyone looking to join Search Dog Network should follow their Facebook page and frequently check the website for more information to come.
For more information about Search Dog Network, visit searchdogs.org or check for updates on Facebook by searching Search Dog Network. Please be advised that a new website is currently being developed. Updates regarding its launch will be promptly shared on the Facebook page. In the event of an emergency, call (979) 204- 5450.
Seamus Stewart: Brazos Valley's top four-legged detective
Hello! I'm Seamus, a dedicated search and rescue dog working with the Search Dog Network in Bryan. I specialize in locating missing persons across the state of Texas. I train with my hooman daily to sharpen my skills, ensuring I'm ready whenever duty calls. But the best part? Knowing that with each wag of my tail and every step of my paws, I'm helping bring someone back home. It's a pretty pawesome way to spend my days if I say so myself!
Did you know? Seamus, spelled the english way (shamus) literally translates to "private detective". This pupper sure lives up to his name!
Seamus, the remarkably skilled black Labrador Retriever, plays a vital role at the Search Dog Network with his exceptional talent in search and rescue. Under the guidance of his owner, Kim Stewart, Seamus has become one of the program's most accomplished canines, with an impressive record of finding 10 people, two of whom were located in bodies of water. His keen sense of smell and agility make him remarkably talented in water search, a skill set that requires additional, rigorous training and certification. Seamus completed his initial search and rescue training in just four months before he turned two years old, a testament to his eagerness to achieve.
“Yes, that is pretty early to finish their training and get certified,” Kim says. “[Seamus] is a very high-drive and intelligent dog.”
Kim has successfully melded her professional veterinary skills with her passion for search and rescue, ensuring that Seamus is not only a top-performing search dog but a well-cared-for and loved companion. Together, they exemplify the dedication and skill that the Search Dog Network prides itself on, working to bring missing persons home and provide closure to families in distress.
“Seamus is a great working dog, and these kinds of dogs with high energy are what is needed for search and rescue,” Kim says.
Did you know? Working dogs can become certified in water search and rescue? Seamus is one of the only dogs on the team that can go out into open water and search!
