The Search for Tara Grinstead

I just got home from the search for Tara this weekend in Ocilla, GA. Ocilla is a beautiful town where you just would not think somebody could turn up missing without a trace.
Saturday morning at 8 a.m. sharp mom and I rolled into the command post where it was already hopping with K9 units, citizens, and professional searchers. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Beth Holloway Twitty standing with a circle of people around her. What a strong person she is to set aside her own grief in Aruba to join us all here in Ocilla. I walked over to Beth and told her that we just thought she was a wonderful mom not letting up on this situation with Natalee. I told her who I was and about Carrie's case. I told her that there have been others who believed that "no body, no crime", and they were proven wrong. She was very interested in Carrie's case and talking with Debra
Culberson. I hope that within the next week or so, they can connect. Beth tells me that she's just learning all these things in the missing person arena. How sad that yet another person has been jolted from every day life into this hell of not knowing where their loved one is. She was one of the hightlights of our trip to Ocilla.

I was fortunate to get to visit with Jim Hanley and that sweet dog of his from Cresbard, South Dakota. Jim and I have been friends for a while now and he was one of the people who worked on the Dru Sjodin case when she vanished in 2003. Jim has been active in several missing person cases and Shania the dog is one of the sweetest dogs who searches for the missing. She worked the burnt out house that mysteriously burnt a few days after Tara Grinstead became missing. Watching her work was amazing because these animals are so smart and what they do helps find people. It's a drag that Jim lives so far away. I'm sure we could babysit the dog sometimes for him ;)
The last part of the day was mostly friends and workers gathering to discuss their ideas on Tara's search. I finally got an opportunity to speak to the man who I say that I want to be like when I grow up, that being Tim Miller. Tim Miller as many of you already know is the director of Texas Equusearch out of North Galveston Texas. His group has done extensive searching for Natalee Holloway and many others who are missing. Miller's own tradegy gave him the strength to stand up and help many other people. We talked about every state having a Texas Equusearch and he told me that he has this idea that this can possibly happen sometime. There is a great need for more organization of these search groups. This is becoming an epidemic in our country. I've heard many different descriptions of Tim Miller but my own observation was that he's a dad who wants to help these people. He wants to reach everyone but sometimes he cant be in every state all the time.
I felt our trip was beneficial although we did not find Tara. I have a better understanding of the details of her disappearance after being with those who have been focusing on this since it happened. I remain hopeful that Tara can be located before Christmas arrives. This is a terrible time for someone to be dealing with something like this. Matter of fact, any time of year is.
I think that these organized searches and gatherings give those of us who are tring to make a difference a chance to learn and grow in our work. There is always room for improvement. In addressing the group before we began on Saturday, Tim Miller said something that is very important. It's going to probably be a topic I write about later this week. He stated that we are all here or the same thing and to leave your egos and attitudes at the door. We can accomplish a lot more if we can set all that aside and get out here and work together. We all need to remember that when we start out on one of these ventures. I am thinking of all these missing people tonight and wishing that it were possible to help search for each of them.

For more photos from Tara's Search Click HERE
Visit the Texas Equusearch Website
South Dakota Sar911

This blog entry is dedicated to Carrie and all other missing and murdered people.