Lone Star Search and Rescue K-9 teams pose after training at First Baptist Wylie one Saturday in July. From left is Beth Hudson, Anna Brownlow, Linda Perdue and Buddy Perdue. The group is a nonprofit affiliated with the church. (Sonia Duggan/The Farmersville Times)

When Lucas resident Diane Leigh went missing last May, the Collin County Sheriff’s Department and Lucas Fire Department conducted a search for hours with no luck.

The 71-year-old woman was last seen helping her husband with yardwork, and when he went inside, she wandered off. A neighbor’s surveillance camera had footage of her and the direction she wandered, but search efforts soon stalled.

Lance Gant, Assistant Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator for Lucas Fire-Rescue felt that they needed additional assistance in finding the missing woman. He contacted the fire chief and city manager who approved Gant’s idea to call in a unique ministry that works to bring home the lost and missing; Lone Star Search and Rescue, a K-9 search and rescue team.

By Sonia Duggan • Associate Publisher • [email protected]

For the complete story see the Oct. 18 edition or subscribe online.