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A frustrating search comes to an end |
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Monday, November 23 2009 |
By Chris Meyers
Staff writer
An exhaustive search for a woman feared dead since Wednesday has come to a close.
Barring any new evidence discovery, Whitley County Sheriff Mark Hodges said the extensive search would not continue today.
The air, water and land searches had been ongoing for three days before the weekend’s last endeavor.
On Saturday, dozens of law enforcement officers from local and area departments and nearly 100 volunteers took to Richland and Cleveland townships in hopes that they would find some sign of Deb Houser, who has been missing since Wednesday morning.
Her ex-husband, 43-year-old Rodney Houser, was scheduled to appear this morning in Whitley Circuit Court to face a murder charge in his ex-wife’s death.
Saturday’s search also saw efforts expand to Goose Lake, where a boat equipped with sonar searched the lake after acting on information from Deb Houser’s family, according to Whitley County Sheriff Mark Hodges.
The boat also searched Larwill Lake and a gravel pit near the Eel River.
Six teams of search dogs also went over area already searched by police in hopes of finding some piece of evidence.
Despite the frustrations Hodges and other police feel from not finding Deb Houser’s body, he was glad to see the support of volunteers who offered their Saturday to help.
“I was surprised and pleased,” Hodges said, adding he was “very appreciative” of all volunteers.
Volunteers didn’t just offer to search on foot. Some were on horses and some on ATVs or in Ultralight aircraft. The Indiana State Police had a plane in the air.
Feelings of thanks were echoed by the community and a simple, double-sided cardboard sign posted on a street sign in Larwill which had “Thank You Searchers”’ and “Thank You Volunteers” written on it in a simple black marker.
As Det. Sgt. Chuck Vogely of the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department briefed volunteers on how to conduct their searches, he also thanked them for their time.
“I can’t tell you people how much we appreciate this … we’ve already been at it for three days,” he said.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, November 24 2009 )
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