Equusearch Founder To Hold Memorial Service For Missing Child

Tim Miller

Dickinson, Texas -- September 2, 2014 -- Texas EquuSearch encourages you to join our search volunteers this Sunday evening September 7 for a special memorial service and candlelight vigil in honor of the 30 years that have passed since 16 year old teenager Laura Lynn Miller’s disappearance and to celebrate the successful return of hundreds of missing children and adults in Laura Miller’s honor by the volunteers and members of Texas EquuSearch. 

The special event will be held at the Magnolia Creek Baptist Church located at 3535 Calder Drive, League City, Texas on September 7, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The service, to remember Laura and all missing persons, is open to the public. 

"We are going to let the world know we will never stop looking for missing loved ones," Tim Miller said. 

Tim Miller founded Texas EquuSearch 14 years ago to assist families and law enforcement to bring home missing loved ones. Losing his daughter Laura Miller was Tim Miller’s motivation to form Texas EquuSearch and dedicate his life to helping families locate their missing loved ones. 

There will be three short talks by Magnolia Creek Pastor Brett Dutton, by EquuSearch Founder Tim Miller and by EquuSearch Senior Advisor Ralph Baird. Following the service there will be a candlelight vigil to mark the 30th year since Laura Miller disappeared. 

Laura, who disappeared from a pay phone in League City on September 10, 1984, was found deceased 17 months later in a wooded area off Calder Road in League City. Her remains were scattered in a remote area where three other females' remains were also found. This location became known as a dumping ground for victims and was later featured in the movie, "Texas Killing Fields." 

Texas Equusearch played a pivotal role in the search for the S/V Nina and her crew after they disappeared in the Tasman Sea on June 4th, 2013.  Unfortunately, nothing of the Nina has been found, though relatives remain hopeful the crew will show up on a remote island or reef.

About Texas EquuSearch -- Texas EquuSearch, a recognized 501 c (3) charity, was organized and chartered in August 2000 to assist law enforcement and families in the search for missing loved ones. Texas EquuSearch does not charge agencies or families and relies solely on donations. To date, Texas EquuSearch has conducted 1500 searches with 300 people found alive and 182 loved ones’ remains returned to families. Over 150,000 volunteers from ffected communities have joined in searches carefully managed by EquuSearch. To learn more please visit www.TXEQ.org 

Contacts: Ralph Baird
 (713) 461-1784
 Charlene Wilford 
 (832) 270-6766 

 Email: Ralph.Baird@TexasEquuSearch.org 

Source: Texas EquuSearch 

Seven Facts About Schooner Nina Few People Know

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the Nina search.  For anyone new to the blog, 7 sailors, Matthew Wootton, Danielle Wright, Professor Evi Nemeth, Kyle Jackson and the Dyche family, David, Rosemary and David Jr. set sail across the Tasman Sea.  They encountered a terrific storm and have not been heard from since.  That was on June 4th, 2013, so it has been awhile.  So why are people still looking, and what can you do to help?

Ricky and Robin Wright, news.com.au photo

FACT NOT FICTION #1  The search was started late.  By the time the authorities got around to actually launching an aircraft to look for Nina, the potential search area had grown to a size slightly smaller than the Milky Way!

FACT NOT FICTION #2  Despite claims the search was "the largest search in the history of New Zealand", low probability areas were not searched at all and a few high probability areas were also not searched.

FACT NOT FICTION #3 Landlubbers and even most sailors can't envision how a crew could survive 7 months on a sailboat without provisions.  Experienced sailors like John Glennie who have actually been in the area say long term survival is possible.  Water is obtained from the frequent rain storms in the Tasman Sea.  The boat becomes a floating reef attracting a large variety of fish.

FACT NOT FICTION #4  If the Nina were really afloat, they would have jury rigged sails and rescued themselves.  Actually, the last text message indicates the sails had blown out.  Fuel for the newly installed engine was in limited supply.  To be sure, Captain Dyche and crew are doing all they can to save themselves, but if the weather was bad enough to blow out professionally made sails, and dis-mast the Nina, it has been bad enough to shred a jury rigged sail and mast system.  They don't have many sail lofts in the middle of the Tasman, eventually even the most ingenious crew will run out of material for masts, rigging and jury built sails.

FACT NOT FICTION #5  If the Nina survived the storms she was in, surely she would have floated to shore by now.  Maybe true, though some boats including an oyster barge last year have taken a year to float through the reverse circulating currents of the Tasman Sea.  If the Nina has floated to land, the question, what land?  There are thousands of small islands and reefs off the Australian coast.  The families ask ALL SAILORS, PILOTS, FISHERMEN AND CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS AND CREW to please be on the lookout for the Nina not only in the ocean, but while passing remote landfalls.

FACT NOT FICTION #6  The remnants of the Nina were found off of Fraser Island, Australia.  A piece of the transom was seen with the letters "INA".  No one really knows if the remnants of the Nina were seen off of Fraser Island because the person who spotted the board with the letters "INA" didn't fish it out of the water.  Robin and Ricky Wright, parents of 19 year old crew member Danielle Wright, did a very thorough search of the area and found lots of flotsam, none of it appearing as the Nina.  IF you spot anything that appears to be the remnant of a boat, please fish it out of where ever you found it.  If you need assistance, the Australian Coast Guard or the New Zealand Coast Guard should be called, depending upon where you are.  



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The letters "INA" fit nicely into the word "Marina".  There are several marinas in the area.  The family expresses their deepest thanks to the person who provided the tip, and ask each of us to help solve the mystery of the Nina.  If you are not near the Tasman Sea, you can help by reminding people the search is still in progress; making a donation to help with the huge cost of search flights; if you are blessed with two hands, putting them together and asking for a higher power to reveal where the Nina is might prove to be the miracle that everyone is waiting for.

FACT NOT FICTION #7  While the families wish they had more support from the various RCC agencies, including a radio broadcast asking mariners to be watchful for a low lying craft in the water or evidence of a landing on remote islands, as well as support from the U.S. State Department and the NGA in satellite searches and rescue exercises while naval ships are in the area, the families remain extremely grateful for the efforts made by the various agencies. 

 Because the families have been hard at the search since the official search was suspended on July 5th, 2013, the families especially, Ricky and Robin Wright and Ian and Sue Wootton,  are in the best position to know what tactics would be most helpful in determining the location of the missing schooner, Nina.  The Texas Equusearch Lead Search coordinator Larry Slack,  Exeutive Search Advisor, Ralph Baird and their team also have a keen sense for the next best steps in finding the Nina.  However, neither the search team nor the families would ever want their requests for help to be misunderstood as a lack of gratitude for the efforts that have been made.  In analyzing the search efforts to date, their sole purpose is to find the Nina by identifying missing pieces in the puzzle, which should not be confused with a lack of appreciation for what has been done or a hidden desire to find fault out of spite.

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters In Schooner Nina Search

How long can 7 souls eek out a living on a damaged sailboat adrift in the toughest waters nature has to throw at an adventurer?

John Glennie, who holds the known record for the longest survival time at sea on an overturned trimaran called the Rose Noelle, says if the Nina is afloat, the sailors are alive.  John caught rain for water and fished to supply the nutrients needed for life for him and his three crew members. It was 119 days later the Rose Noelle washed up on the East side of New Zealand.

The Nina has been missing for over 170 days.  The Wright family, Robin and Ricky, went to New Zealand to do an areal search for the missing yacht.  They spent several days on Lord Howe Island, taking daily tours in a search route identified as most likely to hold the Nina.  After investing most of the piggy bank on this search, and finding nothing, the Wrights went to Australia.  Ricky is now taking private pilot lessons and searching for his daughter, Danielle Wright, as well.  They are searching up and down remote stretches of Australia coast line hoping to find the 1928 schooner and her crew.

The Wrights stand as the ultimate heroes in the Nina search.  It was Ricky Wright who asked Texas Equusearch to advise the families in a private search when New Zealand search and rescue threw in the towel. The Wrights, Kyle Jackson's father Duane Jackson and Salley Davis, Matthew Wootton's parents Sue and Ian Wootton, Lazslo Nemeth, son of Evi Nemeth, Ralph Baird, Executive Search Coordinator for TES, along with Larry Slack, Satellite Coordinator, Jerry Borrer, Drift Logistics Coordinator, Lenore Psencik, Adrienne Gauthier, Satellite Lead, John Funnell, Karen Lagow, and many more people in the Tomnod Search effort are all my heroes.  These are the troopers who have refused to give up the fight.  They see the vision of a floating Nina and want to do all that is possible to greet the 7 sailors back into society.

A tear rolls down my cheek thinking about these dedicated people sacrificing time, money, and an ocean of heart in the campaign to save the 7 sailors, Yet, I fight conflicting feelings.  As Ralph Baird said, if we sat any reasonable person down and laid out the tragic Nina story to them, everyone to a man-or woman, would agree, it is very likely the Nina is afloat and lost in the remote reverse circulating currents of the Tasman Sea.  Yet, no government is willing to step up with the resources necessary to bring the crew home.  Only governments have these resources.  When I think of how my own government, for one, has failed these sailors, along with others, then those feelings of pride and appreciation for what individuals are doing gives way to rage over what governments are not doing.

There is more of the Nina story which remains untold.   That is true with almost every epic, there is a public story, and then there is the story behind the story.  Rarely does the true story ever come out.  When the story does come out, people slap their heads with their hands and say, "ohhh....NOW I understand why there were so many dedicated people working on the campaign.  It makes sense."  It makes sense for an all-out, no holds barred, government effort to rescue 7 people.  It does not look like that will happen.

The thing is, the family members representing the Nina crew all come from hard working, and frankly, patriotic roots.  They believe pursuing the American Dream is a two part process.  First, you have to do your part, which means education and career.  The second part is a strong belief in the government.  That is why, when the U.S. State Department failed to support the 6 American and 1 British sailors, there was a lot of bewilderment.  How is it, at a time when citizens need most for the Department of State to go to bat for them, the citizens, and their families, come up empty handed?  Rather than take their government to task, the families have mostly chosen to take the high road.

Fortunately, there is a bridge over troubled waters.  I am very proud to make up a tiny part of that bridge, which mostly consists of the dedicated search team mentioned.  What a great honor it is to work with incredibly talented people led by the Wright family, and advised by Texas Equusearch, in transcending geo-political problems.  We are in the search for Matthew Wootton, Danielle Wright, Kyle Jackson, Evi Nemeth, David Dyche, Rosemary Dyche, David Dyche IV on the historic schooner Nina.  Each of us has an opportunity to perhaps save a life in the Nina case.  The search team has paid dearly in all they have done.  The very least we can do is support the search, sign the petition and help the families bring the crew home.

GCaptain Article: Satellite Searches For Nina

Help Find The Nina: Tomnod

Donate To Search Fund HERE

Facebook:
Nina Vigil
Holding Hope
The Search For Damien Diamond and Richard Choi
Bringing Home The Nina and Her Crew

Updates: EVXX

Sign the Petition: HERE

Ralph Baird Talks About Hopes For Nina on NZ National Radio

Families and TES Spot Boat On Satellite

Ralph Baird is interviewed on New Zealand National Radio about the image spotted on satellite images taken of the Tasman Sea.  The images were taken by Digital Globe.  They are hosted on a crowd sourcing site called Tomnod.Search Updates:  www.evxx.com

Protocol Costing New Zealand and US

INDEX TO PRIOR POSTS!

Be sure to check out EVXX.com


Please help get the word out, post this to your facebook and other accounts!  Please repost the link!

HERE IS THE LINK!  http://sailingsavoirfaire.blogspot.com/2013/08/protocol-costing-new-zealand-and-us.html

Search Coordinator Ralph Baird Says Call

 The Department Of State

I was very disappointed to learn the flights had been halted in the Nina search today.  It is not that I disagree with the decision to halt the flights and the $20,000 daily bill the families have to pay to keep the planes in the air.  I have intimate trust in Ralph Baird, Executive Search Advisor with Equusearch.  There are valid reasons to conserve resources pending better information.  


Rather, I see it from the point of view of the sailors.  They are out there, in a floating hell, caught in the circular currents of the immense Tasman Sea, waiting for rescue.  They are catching rain water to survive.  They are fishing and spearing the critters that lurk near the man made reef which once was the national treasure, the historic sailboat Nina.  The people who have the equipment to rescue the sailors won't do it because of bureaucratic stink.

A tranquil scene from the press conference and 

fundraiser for the Nina 7

Professionals realize the Nina is out there.  Yachts that sink cough up flotsam.  Yet, nothing has ever been found of the Nina.  The only evidence the yacht sank is the inability of the authorities to find her.  


"They" thought the Scotch Bonnet sank last year after it was abandoned near the last known position of the Nina.  Except for a single sighting, the Scotch Bonnet was never seen again...until it floated onto Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, an Australian beach, 5 months later.  While the Nina will no doubt float to land, the longevity of the crew is at risk.


John Glennie and three crewmen rode his capsized trimaran for 119 days off the coast of New Zealand until they washed up upon an island.  By then, the authorities had cancelled the search and friends had held a eulogy.  Glennie got the last laugh.  He said he created his own miracle because the authorities were not going to create if for him.  


The problem is, the people who have the ability to look for the Nina have washed their hands of the responsibility to look for her.  They have the assets needed, including long range aircraft for an over-the-ocean search.  They can process satellite information being collected by Equusearch.  They can authorize drift models to be run by the Coast Guard at nominal cost.  They can cooperate with the private organization tasked with doing a government job.  The U.S. has other high-tech means to help the seven sailors aboard the Nina. Yet, the U.S. State Department has placed roadblocks in the way of the private search consultant, Equusearch, at every step.


Worse, by mutual cooperation with the U.S., New Zealand could save millions of tax payer search dollars.  Lives could be saved through the deployment of new search tactics for sailors lost in the Tasman Sea.  If the U.S. and New Zealand rolled up their sleeves and got to work on the Nina case, new frontiers would be forged.  Lives, sailor's lives, rescuer's lives, anguish by worried relatives, all could be prevented if the authorities worked together.


This first effort between countries using high technology might be written off as an exercise to pave the way for future searches.  By those terms, a few dollars invested now by each country would yield huge benefits later.

Media volunteers and organizers prepare a commercial with speaker John Glennie

 Instead, the U.S. sends inquiries from the search coordinator and from families to an office in the U.S. State Department which manages the return of the bodies of persons who have perished in a foreign country.  The State Department is not working in tandem with Equusearch.  By indulging red tape, the U.S. State Department robs the families of the basic right to hope. At least the U.S. State Department can't rob the 7 brave sailors of that same hope.



PLEASE CALL THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT.  The telephone number is 202.642.4000, push #4, then ask for John Kerry's comment phone line. Leave a message!


Please also contribute to the fund to save the Nina 7.  Every cent counts!

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I

A Community United

PRIOR POSTS INDEX

Tonight, people from across the US and even New Zealand came together in support of the Nina 7, the seven people stranded on a sailboat in the Tasman Sea since June 4th, 2013. They have little else on their side. Tonight, there is hope because a community united joined hands and hearts in an effort to continue the search forced upon them by fate and by those who fail in their vision.

Shelley Rogers, Darlene Marullo, Ricky and Robin Wright and representatives of the seven families pulled together with Texas Equusearch to hold a fund raiser. The evening started with an inspiring speech by Executive Search Coordinator Ralph Baird who spoke about the problems the search encountered in gaining government cooperation. Equusearch, a non-profit search organization, usually works in tandem with law enforcement and the military. 


Baird said the people in New Zealand believe the crew of the Nina is alive. He took a poll of the relatives working on the case and they said they believed the crew is alive.


Baird said the people who don't believe the Nina 7 are alive are representatives in the U.S. State Department. Instead of assisting Equusearch in it's efforts, the State Department has blocked search efforts. Baird asked every one in the room to take out their phones and call the State Department. He asked them to support the Nina 7.


The telephone number is 202.642.4000, push #4, then ask for John Kerry's comment phone line. Please leave a message!


Is the price of a phone call too much to ask?

The group was also inspired by a fascinating story from John Glennie, who survived 119 days at sea off of the coast of New Zealand. His trimaran, the Rose Noelle, capsized when hit by a towering wall of water. The crew was trapped inside the capsized boat for over a day, until they hacked their way through the bottom of the capsized boat. For the next four months the crew lived in a space the size of a bed with only 18 inches of headroom.



Glennie said we should be proud of the brave sailors who are on the Nina. They had the courage to live their dream. 

More, though, Glennie said great people come from surviving a life challenge. The Nina 7 are giants tasked with creating their own miracle. They are up to the task.

Laszlow Nemeth said he did not know what to add to the event except a heart felt thank you. Sue Wootton thanked the people who had come in support of the seven sailors. Robin Wright said for the first time since the yacht went missing she had been able to relax, just a little.


Following the speeches came an auction for the things businesses had donated. A generous community insured the Nina search will continue for at least one more day. It is the public, though, who will likely have the final vote. If they don't support the search, if they won't make the phone calls to encourage government participation, well, we don't want to go there. Please help the Nina 7.


On June 4th, 2013, Matthew Wootton, Evi Nemeth, Kyle Jackson, David Dyche, Rosemary Dyche, David Dyche IV and Danielle Wright sent their last call via cell satellite telephone. They had blown out their sails and riding under bare poles, a yachting term to mean running with the wind and without sails.  A rescue effort was launched by the RCC-NZ 20 days later.  When the rescue effort ceased on July 5th, 2013, Ricky Wright contacted Texas Equusearch. The non-profit Texas company has found people when law enforcement has given up. The new search coordinator has tasked satellites and brought high tech to SAR at sea.



All articles and blogs like this one are part of the web we cast to bring awareness to EVXX.COM and the Nina 7.

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Your Phone Call Needed To Save Nina 7 Page 38

Page 1  Search SuspendedPage 2  The Boat

Page 3  About the Nina

Page 4  Dyche Family

Page 5  Evi Nemeth

Kyle Jackson Nina Crew

Page 6  Matt Wootton

Page 7  Kyle Jackson

Page 8  Danielle Wright

Page 9 RCCNZ
Page 10  To the Families
Page 11  What Went Wrong?
Page 12  Last Message From Nina Crew
Page 13  Family of Nina Crew Appeal For Search Funds
Page 14  Family Anxious For Search To Begin
Page 15  RCCNZ Less Than Cooperative in New Nina Search
Page 16  Third Day of Search, Funding Needed
Page 17  New Zealand Responds
Page 18  Equusearch Seeks Satellite Specialist
Page 19  A New Era Of Cooperation
Page 20  Wild Speculation No Help

PAGE 21, Sailboat Washes Up On Beach After Crossing Tasman

Page 22  Nina Fund
Page 23  Nina Makes Prime Time

Page 24  Kyle Jackson, Hiya Mom!

Page 25  U.S. Coast Guard Endangers Lives of Nina 7
Page 26  Equusearch, Nina Families, Ask For Help
Page 27  Apathy From US Officials

Page 28  Families Seek More Funding

Page 29  Standing Up To Uncle Sam

Page 30  Possible New Location of Nina

Page 31  Reason For Hope Rescue After 76 Days At Sea
Page 32  Breaking News Delayed
Page 33 Positive Despite the Negatives
Page 34  Tomnod Saves Lives
Page 36  Tasman Takes Two

Page 37  91 Days Lost At Sea

Page 38   Your Phone Call is Needed

Page 39  Evi Nemeth and Nina News

Page 40  PRESS CONFERENCE LAFAYETTE AND HOUSTON!

PAGE 38  YOUR PHONE CALL

 NEEDED TO SAVE NINA 7

Search Updates:

EVXX.COM 

Texas Equusearch and their families have been working triple time to save the seven sailors aboard the 1928 national treasure, the Nina.

A shore search was performed looking for Nina wreckage.  None was found.

The U.S. State Department has blocked the TES effort to search for the seven people aboard this historic racing yacht.  We ask for your support in two ways:


1.  Please call the Department of State and ask them to to cooperate with Texas Equuserch in the hunt for the Nina and her crew, (202)-647-4000;


2.  Please make a small donation so the private search for the Nina can continue.

Ralph Baird, Executive Search Advisor, uses high tech to find people

NINA VIGIL, WE HOLD HANDS IN PRAYER

All we ask is for America to come together in support of the sanctity of seven lives.  

Some of these great sailors have contributed wonderful things to our world.  Retired professor Evi Nemeth helped thousands of people understand the computer language Linux.  Matthew Wootton advocates for clean water in third world countries.  Danielle Wright, 19, is an artist, a photographer and psychology student.  Kyle Jackson is at home in nature and a survivalist.  The Dyche family restored the Nina and brought her to many places so people all over the world could see the magnificent yacht which has won race after race.

Mail checks to:

Texas EquuSearch SV Nina Search Fund

P.O. Box 395

Dickinson, Texas 77539

Office: (281) 309-9500

Fax: (281) 534-6719

Toll Free: (877) 270-9500

Or use PayPal or Credit Card

Or, mail checks directly to:

Texas EquuSearch SV Nina Search Fund

c/o Amegy Bank215 FM 517 Road West

Dickinson, TX 77539

Attention: Ms. Alicia White

(281) 337-9390

The families say the Nina is floating because no wreckage was found; other sailors have been declared lost at sea and found; the Nina crew are experienced and managed rough weather many times; the Nina was in good condition; claims the Nina sank are based only on an inability to locate her.  That does not mean she sank.

Nina Rescue, Bring The Crew Home!

Your call can make a difference.  U.S. Department of State:  (202)-647-4000

Suggested script:

"Hi, my name is __________________.  I am calling about the Nina 7.  That is the yacht that disappeared in the Tasman Sea with the seven sailors.  I am calling to urge the Department of State to support the Nina 7 and Texas Equusearch."

What else do you want to say?

Expect to get transferred a few times.  PLEASE DO LEAVE  A MESSAGE IF YOU END UP ON A MESSAGE PHONE.

If you don't call, who will?  If it was your son or mother, would you want others to call?

Your donation can make a difference.  A few dollars adds up.  Until we can get help from the U.S. the families continue to fund a very expensive search effort.  Will you give a couple of latte's to save seven lives?

Who are they?

Evi Nemeth

Kyle Jackson

Matthew Wootton

Danielle Wright

David Dyche

Rosemary Dyche

David Dyche IV

Texas Equusearch Mobilizes

We really need your support.  The requests are sincere and urgent.  Because Americans respect the sanctity of life;  Because we would want the same if we were in the same place;  Because out of 100 people, 1 person will end up missing in the next 60 months;  Because America can do better; Because we love our country and we respect the technology that should be used to save lives; Because no one should block an effort to save lives;  Because America is founded on hope;  Because it is time for the sailors on the Nina to come home!

On To Page 39

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