Dogs help in search

The investigation into the baffling case of a missing Terrell Hills mother spread into muddy creeks and rain-slicked drainage ditches Wednesday as volunteers combed the area with search dogs.

Officials with the Heidi Search Center commissioned the team of dogs, hoping to pick up the scent of a trail that would lead them to Susan McFarland, who has been missing for more than a week.

Late Wednesday, there still was no sign of the 43-year-old mother of three, who is also an SBC telecommunications executive. 

Earlier in the day, a police officer discovered a broken bouquet of plastic flowers near the ditch, resembling a makeshift roadside memorial, witnesses said.

Andrew Joplin (from left), James Joplin, and Chris Cashman of the San Antonio Blacksun Search and Rescue Canine Team work a drainage ditch near the 600 block of Morningside. The team was searching Wednesday for Susan McFarland, a Terrell Hills woman missing since Nov. 25.
J. Michael Short/Special to the Express-News

To help the dogs pick up McFarland's scent, their handlers had them sniff a bag filled with some of the missing woman's clothing. After about two hours of searching through dark tunnels and puddles of cold water, the hunt near the drainage ditch was called off.

The team also covered a stretch of Salado Creek north of Terrell Hills and a heavily wooded area where one of McFarland's children regularly went for horse rides.

The only place where a dog had a positive reaction was at the empty lot where police found McFarland's 1997 Ford Explorer about 3 a.m. Thanksgiving Day. The team's bloodhound, Boomer, zeroed in on the exact spot where the Explorer was found.

"All we could tell by this is that she got out of the vehicle somehow and that she didn't wander far from the scene," said Karen Dye, a director with the dog-search team.

Throughout each of the searches, several of McFarland's family members who came from Missouri stayed huddled inside a rental car to keep warm. McFarland's husband, Richard McFarland, was not at the search sites.

Pete Smith, McFarland's brother and a retired homicide detective from Kansas City, braved most of the chilly day outside and watched patiently as the dogs sniffed around.

"Throughout my career, I've been on the other side of many investigations," Smith said, his eyes welling up occasionally from the cold wind and the situation. "After all those years, this one hit home."

McFarland was last seen Nov. 25. Four days later, police found her Explorer in an empty lot about two miles from her home.

Later that afternoon, her husband, Richard McFarland, went to pick up the keys from police and reported his wife missing. Explaining the time lag between her disappearance and when he filed the missing person's report, Richard McFarland told police he believed his wife had gone to visit friends in Amarillo.

The next morning, the case took an unusual turn after a stolen Chevrolet Suburban was found inside the garage of one of McFarland's neighbors. The neighbor said there was a smudge of blood on the Suburban's bumper and a wallet containing a AAA card bearing Richard McFarland's name.

Investigators since have searched the McFarlands' home and vehicles. Police collected a number of items at the house but would not discuss what they took. All the evidence collected so far is being examined at an Austin crime lab.

Terrell Hills Police Chief Lawrence Semander said his officers are continuing to take statements from possible witnesses.

"We know that this investigation has been creeping methodically slow," Semander said. "There are a lot of things we need to look at to determine what is criminal and what is not. I think those results will definitely be a big deal."

He commended McFarland's family for their patience.

"I know this is very frustrating for the family, and they've been holding up well so far — better than I would."

irodrig@express-news.net