Search for Joe Houston 11-05-09

Hello friends,
The searchers were able to cover 8sq miles of San Jose Island with 25 volunteers today. The island is 23 miles long. They designated search areas with flags and coordinated search groups and all went smoothly.

We desperately need more people and boats. The ferry only drops people off at one place. Therefore, every time the searchers are dropped off, they are having to go over the same area that has already been searched. We need boats to take people to different points on the island. We do have one 18ft shallow water boat owned by Jeff that will be here at 3PM. We need boat captains to operate commercial boats.

Tomorrow (11-05-09) we have kayakers that are going to cover marshy area. There are at least 2 so far and they are starting at 7:30AM. We have access to more kayaks. If you are an experienced kayaker and would like to help, please contact us.
There will also be at least 5 people on mountain bikes. This enables them to go further and faster up the beach. We need more mountain bikers. If you are coming out and have one, please bring it. Street bikes can't make it over the terrain. It must be a mountain bike.
We had someone contact us with a search dog who is going to be out tomorrow.
There will also be two helicopters flying in from Houston. They will be leaving from Corpus Christi International Airport to start their search. They are taking 2-3 people with them to be lookouts. The pilots names are Brent and Dominic and we are so grateful for their services. One is doing this for free and the other one is negotiating a price with the helicopter's owner.
There is also a fixed wing aircraft flown by a volunteer marine luetenant that will be covering San Jose and Matagorda Island. Two volunteers are needed to fly with him and serve as lookouts. They need to have good eyesight and be observant.

Equusearch is also mobilizing their resources and volunteers tomorrow.
About 3/4 of the island is owned by Bass. We need them to give us permission to search the property. Please pray that we get in contact with someone from Bass asap. This is of the utmost importance.

Carpooling or just giving a ride is definitetly appreciated. We have volunteers already that are getting here without their own vehicles. In particular we are looking for someone to drive to the west side of Corpus Christi by Sam's Club to transport a volunteer to and from Fisherman's Wharf for the 7:30AM dropoff.

If you are not able to come in person to the search but would like to contribute, we are in need of money. There are resources to be paid for and the funds so far are low.

You can contact me for the mailing address for checks and money orders to be sent to. Or you can send money via Paypal to
nhimitrust@yahoo.com

Again, please contact us if you want more info or to sign up for the search. Thanks for all your efforts.
Amy Warner 361-334-6703 Volunteer sign up and general information
Tawny Novosad 361-876-8969 Food and supply coordinator
Nicole Lamberti 973-447-8051 Search planning and resources (ie boats, aircraft, search dogs, etc)

Top priority is access to Bass property, boats, and funds. Please pray for all of these to be provided and if you can help, please contact us.

Blessings,
Dave and Amy Warner
Matt Kavanagh and Nicole Lamberti
Nick and Tawny Novosad
and many more

P.S.- There will be groups meeting at 7:30 and 11:30am at
Fisherman's Wharf
900 Tarpon St
Port Aransas, TX

The ferry tickets are $12 roundtrip per person. The ferries leave for San Jose Island on the even hours between 8a-6p so you can head over to the island on your own if you can't meet the group at the designated times. Please call and let us know if you do this so we can put you with a group. Everyone's safety is very important to us.