Dale Matson
Deputy Robert McEwen
Click On Photographs For A Larger View
Cover Of Seeking The Lost: Stories Of Search And Rescue
Robert Facing The Camera
I met Robert when I began as a civilian mountaineering unit volunteer
attached to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team about ten
years ago. When I think of the searches I have participated in, Robert has been
my unit leader more often than anyone else. I am glad for that because he has
been a joy to work with. I only wish I had his navigational skills. He has
always been patient with team members who could not move through the brush with
the same speed.
Robert has been a “Go to” deputy and when there was a
callout, I always expected to see him when we gathered together at the Command
Post or some parking lot before we caravanned to another area for a mutual aid
search. Robert always has a positive attitude and team spirit. I have seen him
continue searching with a torn groin muscle and once with an eye injury caused
by a tree branch. Robert is a wilderness MacGyver completely at home day after
day in the woods. If I were in a survival situation, he would be the one person
I would trust to get us out.
Robert is a man of faith who always respected me as a clergy
person. He would sometimes swear and then say immediately, “Sorry Padre”. This
did not make me immune to his quick humor however. I ran into him in a clothing
store once and pointed to a shirt that I liked with lots of pockets. He asked
if I might have trouble remembering which pocket I had my nitroglycerin in if I
were to have a heart attack.
Robert was wounded in the line of duty and received the U.S.
Marshall’s purple heart in 2014. He also received the medal of valor from
Governor Brown prior to that. http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17218.
I am sad that this ends a chapter in both of our lives but
am blessed to know Robert. He is also a humble man that would never promote himself. I am honored to write this as a partial record of his service. Here are a few photographs I have taken of Robert
over the years on searches. I used one for my book, Seeking The Lost:
Stories Of Search And Rescue. I used another for my fictional account of a
search, The Search For Maggie Caslon.
Yosemite Mutual Aid Search
Search Out Of Florence Lake
Robert In Eagle One Wishon Search
Madera County Mutual Aid Search
Dinkey Creek Search
Robert Downloading GPS Data For Search Teams
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