ST. LOUIS — Missouri Task Force 1 just finished their third day helping with search and rescue efforts in Fort Meyers Beach, Florida.
Missouri Task Force 1, Task Force Leader Randy Sanders said they brought nearly 50 people down to southwest Florida to help look for people who are missing or trapped.
“We see houses completely torn down, all the way down to the concrete flooring and then we'll see trees bent over, we'll see cars in trees, and you see cars on houses. They just bulldozed sand off the streets so the emergency services could get by,” Task Force Leader Randy Sanders said.
Sanders said it’s one of the worst disasters they’ve ever seen.
“There have been some fatalities that have been detected. And it's very sad. And we still have some people walking around on the beach area down here that survived the storm. So that's good. But, you know, we're going to keep looking until they turn us loose,” Sanders said.
They're using every resource possible to help including live-find dogs, cadaver dogs and even the Missouri Drone Team which can go places they can't.
“So, on a high-rise building, if I can't make access to the top, they can actually go out there and look inside the building, look on the roof. Look on the backside if we can't get to something so there are definitely tools and they are necessary,” Sanders said
Sanders said they won't leave until they turn over every stone and look into thousands of washed-up cars.
“So anytime we walk down the street or into a building, we have devices that are on us that we can make those markings. We'll make the appropriate decision on what kind of tools to take in there, but if the buildings are collapsed, then maybe we have to dig our way in. So, it's been quite a process down here,” Sanders said.
It's not clear how much longer Missouri Task Force 1 will be in Florida but they finished the last section of Fort Meyers Beach on Wednesday.