MAGNOLIA, Texas -When a person is reported missing in Montgomery County, law enforcement officials often need help searching the brushy, wooded areas that skirt the northeastern perimeter of Houston. Sometimes Greg Storch, CEO of USE Credit Union, is right there with them. Since 1998, Greg has served as a member of the Montgomery County Search and Rescue Team, leading horseback searches for people who have run away, been abducted or injured, or gotten lost. Greg is one of 150 professionally-trained volunteers who are on-call 24/7 to conduct search missions. In addition to horse teams, MOCSAR has ground and ATV (four-wheeler) units, search dogs and a search boat. The organization's mobile command center formulates search plans and deploys strike teams as needed, depending upon the nature of the case. Storch has funny stories to tell – like the boy found asleep under the covered breakfast bar in his kitchen – but others are somber, like the girl presumed a runaway, but actually abducted and murdered. Her attacker is on Death Row today. Greg recruited his wife, Elaine, their two kids, three other USE Credit Union employees, and eight or nine of his neighbors as MOCSAR volunteers. The Storch family owns six horses trained in search-and-rescue methods. "Trained means the horse is okay with being loaded into a trailer, sometimes traveling for two hours, saddling up at night with police sirens blaring, and hitting the brush with a floodlight," said Storch. "You have to have a good trail horse that is comfortable with strange places, strange noises and darkness." Balancing search-and-rescue duties with credit union responsibilities isn't that difficult, he said. "It's a rewarding avocation, and the group has a great esprit de corps." [email protected]

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