Visitors are encouraged to snap a family photo when they arrive, a helpful way for first responders to identify a person during a search.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A search for a missing family member on the beach over the weekend turned into a multi-agency search involving firefighters, police, lifeguards, even the US Coast Guard. The good news? The person at the center of it all was eventually found safe and unharmed.
As you can imagine for the family, they were worried enough to call for help.
That led crews to search a large area of the beach for over an hour in order to locate the man, but rescue crews say it’s simply what they do.
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Kyler Ferracci is the lead trainer for Corpus Christi Beach Rescue. He said lifeguards are prepared for any emergency especially when it comes to a missing persons call.
“Preferable outcome to find the person safe and unharmed,” Ferracci said. “Anytime we have a missing person report, we take it absolutely serious.”
Saturday’s report of a missing swimmer quickly brought in a coordinated response searching land, water, and air.
“(It) can be a really scary call for the family and for us as well,” said Assistant Chief Tony Perez with CCFD.
Perez said crews ended up finding the man, on the beach and he was said to be totally fine.
“CCPD had their drone team out there and we were calling for our HAZMAT unit that has drones on it,” Perez said. “Any resource we can put out there, time is of the essence when it comes to those.”
Despite all of that time, equipment, and manpower, first responders don’t see it as a strain on resources, rather part of the job.
“Crews make these calls all the time so we get better and better, even something like we got on Saturday, down the beach a little bit, we still utilize that to see how we can do it better,” Perez said.
He said especially during the summer when tourism is at its peak, beach visitors can do their part to help during emergencies.
“The first thing we’ll ask is if they know which beach marker they are at,” he said.
Ferracci agrees saying communication is key.
“Staying within shouting distance from one another, telling them where you’re going what you are doing what you plan on doing and what time you are going to be back if you do decide to walk off or go in the water,” Ferracci said.
He encourages visitors to snap a family photo when they get out to the beach- a helpful way to identify what a loved one looks like and is wearing, a vital tool to help first responders.
“Having an actual picture of the person that is missing can mean the difference between a ten-minute search or a two-to-three-hour search because often times on any given day there can be anywhere between 1000 or 2000 people,” Ferracci said.
Even though this search ended with a sigh of relief, emergency crews say they’ll always respond when someone’s safety might be at risk.
“We all work together to serve one purpose, and that is to protect and serve our citizens,” Ferracci said.
Chief Perez said even though this weekend’s case ended up being a false alarm, again it still provides critical response that makes them better with each and every call.