A North Texas man from Mesquite who has made it his life鈥檚 mission to find missing people is helping others search for their loved ones following this weekend鈥檚 flooding along the Guadalupe River in Central Texas.
At least 100 people died and many are still missing after .
鈥淚鈥檓 exhausted,鈥� said Alfonso Solis, who spent the weekend offering support to first responders. He came back to his residence in Mesquite on Monday for some respite and to see his family 鈥� but plans to return to Kerr County on Tuesday to continue the work.
"It's emotionally draining,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou see a lot and you think about what's going on and you just want to find a way to help people.鈥�
Solis was on vacation with his family when he got a call from a North Texas man whose brother, wife and one-year-old son were missing after flood waters swept through their home in Kerrville.
He said he didn鈥檛 initially expect to be 鈥渂oots on the ground,鈥� but joined the man as he searched for his relatives.
鈥淭hey were at the riverbank at night with flashlights and it was hard for me to tell them, like, 鈥榶ou can't be there,鈥欌�� Solis said. 鈥淵ou know, it's still an active zone. You're in danger of something happening to you and then we gotta come rescue you too."
Solis has been leading and helping with search and rescue efforts for decades, volunteering with efforts after becoming a widow at a young age, but water rescue is not his area of expertise.
鈥淚t's one thing to go look for a lost kid in the woods or an Alzheimer's patient that wandered off,鈥� Solis said. 鈥淵ou know, water is a very powerful thing and there's nothing for me to track. There's just a big line where water just carved a new path into the earth.鈥�
Solis, a chaplain, said he offered support without getting in the way, and helped where he could.
He went back and forth between the reunification center in Kerrville and the funeral home relaying information to people, especially to Spanish-speaking families who are dealing with language barriers as they search for information.
"I went there for peer support and for the families,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are very few people in search and rescue that speak Spanish, so wanted to be there ... to be able to use that particular skill set."
Solis is planning to return to Central Texas later this week and will connect with a search and rescue team from Tennessee he鈥檚 trained with in the past. He said he's taking items like a chainsaw and a generator to help.
As he looked to go back, he said he was preparing himself mentally to deal with something of this magnitude. He鈥檚 been listening and talking to people and 鈥渉earing the desperation in their voice鈥� as they wait for notifications about their loved ones.
鈥淵ou carry that weight with you because you're witness to that, and ... your heart hurts for them,鈥� he said.
鈥淢y hope is, is we find everyone and bring them home.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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