Search for Chief Phillips goes on; memorial and procession July 29
Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Phillips (right). Photo courtesy of Marble Falls Area VFD
The search for Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Phillips continues, weeks after he was swept away during the Fourth of July weekend flood while responding to a distress call. A memorial service and procession in his honor are Tuesday, July 29, and Gov. Greg Abbott has granted a request to lower U.S. and Texas state flags to half-staff across the Highland Lakes.
“We have done an exhaustive search for our chief,” Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson told DailyTrib.com. “We are not going to close the search. The governor has made it very clear that we are not going to stop until everyone is found.”
Gov. Abbott has repeatedly stated that the search for the missing will go on, including in a July 7 media release just days after the worst of flooding in the Texas Hill Country.
“Texas will remain engaged until every missing person is found and every Texan recovers from this disaster,” he said.
Of the six people reported missing in Burnet County following the flood, the bodies of five have been recovered, making Phillps the final known missing victim in the county.
According to the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, Phillips was caught in the raging waters of Cow Creek on FM 1174 while responding to a distress call in the early morning hours of July 5. His vehicle and some personal effects were found after floodwaters receded, but nothing more has been reported.
The latest major development in the search was the assistance of Texas Task Force 2 from the Texas Division of Emergency Management on July 24-25. They are just one of several teams, agencies, departments, and organizations that have aided in the search for Phillips.
“We are still hoping that we can find Chief Phillips, but as days go on, our hope diminishes,” BCSO Capt. Mike Sorenson told DailyTrib.com. “But we’re not done yet.”
According to Sorenson, hundreds of people have assisted in the search for the chief, supported by a host of drones (airborne and waterborne), cadaver dogs, and aircraft. Local law enforcement is continuing to search on foot, targeting large debris piles along Cow Creek and Lake Travis, as of Monday, July 28.
“There are boulders the size of cars in (the creekbed) that were pushed around by the water and debris piles full of trees,” Sorenson said. “His vehicle was completely buried in rock and rubble (when it was found).”
The Highland Lakes community has openly memorialized Phillips with candlelight vigils at the volunteer fire station, an official “end of watch” announcement July 15, and a flag ceremony at the Marble Falls Rodeo on July 18.
A community-wide memorial service is Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the Marble Falls High School auditorium, 2101 Mustang Drive. It will be preceded by a procession at 1:15 p.m., which will start at the intersection of Thunder Rock Boulevard and Centurion Parkway on the south side of Marble Falls, then head north on U.S. 281 before turning east on RR 1431 toward the high school.
The service will be livestreamed starting at 3 p.m. by the Marble Falls Independent School District. Phillips worked for MFISD for 28 years in its maintenance department.
County Judge Wilson made a formal request to Gov. Abbott on July 24 to lower flags across the county on Tuesday in honor of Phillips, and the request was officially granted on July 25.
“The First Lady and I extend our prayers to the Phillips family during their time of grief and urge all Texans to remember and honor his service as a dedicated volunteer who gave his life for his community,” reads Abbott’s letter to Wilson.
