Heat Stroke Victims Thank Texas Rescuers

Aug. 15--It's a happy ending for Margaret and Richard Phelps, the Victoria couple rescued from heatstroke Monday afternoon. But it might not have been, if Goliad rescuers hadn't gone above and beyond the call of duty, Margaret said. With temperatures almost at 100 degrees, the Goliad Sheriff's Department, Emergency Management Services and a volunteer from the Goliad Fire Department battled thick brush and a swampy, uneven terrain in a field to carry the unconscious couple to an awaiting hospital helicopter.

"It was a close call but I'm so thankful we are still here. They really outdid themselves to find us and I just can't thank them enough for all they did," said Margaret, who is now listed as in stable condition at Citizens Medical Center. Her husband, Richard, is still in the medical intensive care unit, but listed in guarded condition, hospital officials said.

The Phelps, both in their 70s, were checking on the electrical meters on their ranch land off U.S. Highway 59 in Goliad when their vehicle got stuck and they became lost. Using Citizens' air medical chopper to locate the couple, by the time rescuers reached them they were unconscious and lying out in the open sun. By the time the Phelps reached the hospital, their core body temperatures were over 106 degrees, Citizens Medical Center emergency physician Dr. John McNeil said.

Grateful as she is for the teamwork effort of her rescuers, Margaret said what really got her was when one of the rescuers, Goliad Constable Michael DeLaGarza, made a personal visit to her hospital room Tuesday evening.

"I thought it was very thoughtful of him," she said. "I just thanked him over and over again."

DeLaGarza, who went into the thick brush three times to carry out both the Phelps and an EMS worker who had sprained her ankle, said he just wanted to make sure the Phelps were OK.

"It was tough, very tough, with the heat and the terrain. But she appreciated our efforts and that's what it's all about," he said. "We went through hell getting them out but her saying thank you makes it all worth it." Hearing about his brother's visit to the hospital, Sheriff Robert DeLaGarza said he wasn't surprised.

"That sounds like something Mike would do. He carried them out and got attached to them. He needed some closure that they were going to be all right," he said.

A few of the rescuers almost became victims of heatstroke themselves, with one deputy unable to make it into work today because of dehydration, Sheriff DeLaGarza said. Constable DeLaGarza added that he too almost became a victim after his third trip through the brush.

"It was probably about 80 to 100 yards from the Phelps to the road, but it felt like a mile." he said. "I'm telling you, once we were done I would have paid $100 bucks for a pitcher of ice water."

Constable DeLaGarza added that the rescue was a team effort and said he thought the real hero of the day was Goliad volunteer firefighter Buck McKinney.

"As a volunteer, he didn't have to be out there. He was out there because he wanted to be and in my book, that makes you a hero," he said. Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com, or comment on this story at wwwVictoriaAdvocate.com.

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