MCCOY, Texas – Texas Game Wardens are incorporating lessons learned from the devastating Hill Country floods into their K-9 training programs, as the search for two missing people continues months after the disaster.
Texas Game Wardens and their K-9 partners were among the first responders on the scene when the Guadalupe River flooded near Hunt on July 4.
The teams searched through massive debris fields and challenging terrain in efforts to locate victims, including Jeffrey Ramsey and Cecilia Steward.
Ramsey and Steward have still not been located.
“It was the worst thing that we’ve ever seen,” said Texas Game Warden Dustin Fleming, who responded with his 3-year-old K-9 partner Piper from their station just 21 miles away in Kerrville.
Fleming and Piper, along with other K-9 teams, covered approximately eight miles along the Guadalupe River during their five-day search operation.
Initially focused on locating potential survivors, the teams later shifted their mission as days passed.
The scale of destruction presented significant challenges.
“There’s a lot of debris fields, large, large debris fields 20 to 30 feet tall,” said Texas Game Warden Isaac Ruiz.
Now, during their latest training sessions, the K-9 teams are developing new skills based on their experience responding to floods. They’re specifically working on helping their dogs overcome water barriers and navigate complex debris fields.
“We want the dogs to know that even if water’s barricading them from the target, which is a missing person, we want them to be able to cross it or learn how to find their way around it,” said Game Warden K-9 Handler Royce Ilse.
The teams are focusing on creating realistic training environments that mirror actual disaster conditions.
“Getting in different training areas, maybe finding those areas where there are large debris piles, working through that and creating a realistic environment where those skill sets are applicable to the next tragic event that takes place in Texas,” Fleming said.
During the Hill Country floods, the K-9 teams faced additional hazards, including exposed nails and metal debris throughout their search areas, highlighting the need for enhanced safety protocols in their training regimen.
More Hill Country flood coverage on KSAT
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.