Search, recovery volunteers will stay in Kerr Co. 'as long as needed'

KERR COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Several volunteer groups assisting with search and recovery efforts following the catastrophic July 4 floods had vowed to stay as long they're needed.

For many of them, like Cajun Navy Southern Region Commander Kevin LaFond, this has become personal.

"I was walking down the [Wall of Hope] and I was taking a few photographs so I could remember it, and I came across a photograph that made me stop. A recovery I was on recently, it turned out to be that person," LaFond said. "So I was able to see him as he was, not as I found him. And it was a bit of a shock. But at the same time, it was needed, it allowed me to connect a little bit more than I normally do."

He recognizes a lot about this response is different.

"It felt like, in that moment, I became part of the the community," he said.

LaFond is posted up at the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department helping coordinate and deploy the countless number of volunteers showing up.

"It’s an area for search and recovery as well as clearing," he said.

Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) has also promised to stay in town as long as its work is needed.

Patrick Turck, a program director with TEXSAR, mirrors LaFond's sentiments about the scope and heaviness of this tragedy.

"This is a big one, this is larger than I think anybody out here has ever dealt with as far as human loss and property destruction, but mostly the human loss side of this. It does weigh heavy on us, but we have found a way to channel that into a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose," he said. "We remind everybody, we want you to go out there and search like you're searching for your own family member."

Volunteer coordinates do want to remind everyone not to self-deploy, and to come check in through official channels for safety reasons.