Testimonials
Robert (Ted) Lee
I recently had the opportunity to volunteer on a search with the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation. This was my first time on a search and I did not know what to expect; needless to say I was taken aback by the whole experience. The organization, the effort, the wonderful people, and the lasting bonds made were just a few of the takeaways. In this search, safety was first and foremost. It was very well put together and I felt totally at ease as we bushwhacked through impossible terrain. Utilizing the CalTopo App to track each individual searcher, view topography, and know where previously searched areas were was an amazing asset to have during the search. The bond between the Fowler-O'Sullivan members and the volunteers was omnipresent. We were all a real team and worked very hard to try and bring this hiker home. It takes a very special kind of person to search for someone they have never met, to bring closure to a family in pain, and this is what the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation is about. Meeting the family members at this particular search touched my heart in a way I have never felt before. The Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation is here to help others, to let us know that there is something out there greater than ourselves.
From the Joseph Brambila family:
From our family, we extend our sincere gratitude to Fowler-O’Sullivan for the empathy and support they provided during an incredibly difficult time before Joseph was found. Their professionalism, compassion, and unwavering commitment meant more to us than words can express.
Benjamin Eichholz
Hello friends at the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation, I hope you all are doing well and had a wonderful holiday season. I am incredibly grateful to have been the recipient of a Garmin InReach Mini through the 2025 giveaway. I finished my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike on September 7th, and honestly, it almost couldn't have gone better. I was fortunate not to experience any major health issues or navigation problems that required me to use the device directly. That said, on my second-to-last day on trail, my group and I were setting up camp less than 15 miles from the Canadian border when one of those short afternoon mountain lightning storms rolled through. One lightning strike and thunder clap sounded quite close. After the storm and rain had passed, we all got out of our tents and continued on with dinner and the evening routine when someone noticed a small pillar of smoke rising below a nearby ridgeline. I ended up being the one to grab my inReach and give details to Garmin's emergency response service to report what we were seeing. We ended up moving camp that evening, just to be extra safe. The following day, I finished my thru-hike, and later heard that firefighters that were flown in to extinguish the two or three smoldering trees that were left by the lightning strike. Between the ability to call for help should I, or someone I'm with, get hurt or lost, to notify the right people in an emergency, and even just to send a message home at the end of the day, carrying a satellite device is a no-brainer in today's world. I'm truly thankful for the work you do and for helping make the trail a safer place Best wishes, and good luck to the PCT Class of 2026,
Chip Lockwood
Last year my wife, son, and I hiked the Washington State portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. If it weren't for the information your foundation provided, I would have never known about the Garmin inReach mini 2. Because of the device, my wife and I avoided many sleepless nights, especially with our son, who was 20 at the time and has ASD. He has a tendency to wander off during hikes and has gotten lost a few times. With the Garmin, we were able to send messages and track him, which allowed us to find him through contact with my daughter, who was monitoring his hike.
Dawne Robinson
Seven years ago yesterday, my brother Paul Miller went missing in Joshua Tree National Park. A year and a half later, his remains were found by a volunteer drone team whose photos were scanned by the volunteers of the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation. We are forever grateful for the amazing work of these volunteers. They brought Paul home to us. I'd like to make a particular mention of Morgan Clements, who spent many hours helping with this case. He was instrumental in bringing the image to the FOF team that lead to Paul being located. Morgan not only helped my family but also spent untold hours reviewing images in other cases. Cathy Tarr of FOF believes that his eye for detail is amazing and that other viewers may have passed up the image he found. FOF is lucky to have him on the team. I sincerely hope that Morgan realizes the impact of his dedication on families of the missing. We still miss Paul every day, but the volunteers who helped find him allowed us to begin the healing process. We are forever grateful.
Kelseyjo Johansen
Thanks again for all that you do, the hiking community sincerely appreciates it! Your advice has kept me & my friends safe on more than one occasion. I lost my friend Alex Wright back in 2015 when he became lost getting back to his car after skiing. As hard as it is, I am always sure to share his story and safe backcountry practices in hopes of preventing something like that again. I am so glad the thru hiking community has you as a resource. I know the gravity of your work weighs heavy on the heart, but I hope that all of tragedies you’ve helped avoid with your outreach lightens the emotional toll and comforts your soul!
Kim Dobson
John Formentim
John Formentin, guardian of Budinski’s grandsons, said the family had gone through a long grieving process and that the Fowler O’Sullivan Foundation had been very helpful during the months of uncertainty. He praised Tarr’s “exemplary effort” in connecting often-distant families with the agencies conducting searches. “Without her, we were literally on an island.”
Laura Atencio Re: Rosario Garcia
I just want to share what this organization has done for me and my family. My mother-in-law went missing July 7th 2020. Her car was found two days later in the Idllywild mountains near hiking trails. It was found abandoned because she had actually hit a rock and teeter tottered on it. None of us could figure out whether she actually drove the car up, but we knew there was enough stuff in the car to say that it wasn’t stolen. She was a 73-year-old woman who walked with assistance and had a bad hip. The local sheriff’s department was contacted and we were told that they searched not only with bloodhounds but that a rescue team had looked for her also with the help of helicopters, police and volunteers. Even with all these search efforts, they did not find her. Friends and family hiked the trails screaming for her as we searched but we were not able to find any trace of her. Every month, an editor and writer for a newspaper in idyllwild would write a story about Rosario and other hikers that were missing in the area. It just so happened that Cathy Tarr read this article and thankfully something caught her attention. She got a hold of her crew of the Fowler O’Sullivan Foundation and was able to find Rosario in three days! We waited 7 months with no answers, everyday wondering, everyday crying, everyday wishing. Wishing for a little spark of hope to find our loved one. It was the hardest thing we’ve ever gone through. Thanks to Cathy Tarr and the Fowler O’Sullivan Foundation, my mother-in-law was found within 3 days. It wasn’t the ending we wanted but it was the closure we needed. We are very lucky that the Foundation took it upon themselves to look for her, and buy the grace of God, they found her and we were able to lay her to rest. I pray that anyone in a similar situation has the opportunity for closure like we did. We owe this Foundation so much and will never forget them. We LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! REST IN PEACE ROSARIO “CHATA” GARCIA
Beth Harris
Theresa Sturkie
After the authorities told me they were going to close the search for my husband, John Sturkie, I didn’t know what to do. The ambiguous loss and constant state of uncertainty that I, and especially our children, felt left us unable to grieve.
Thank goodness Jon King introduced me to Cathy Tarr. She and her volunteers picked up where the authorities left off. We searched together weekly and organized large volunteer searches. It was six long months that John was missing.
Cathy and her volunteers were there to understand and provide us with support and help during those trying days. They provided search techniques, plans, and safety equipment for safe and effective searches.
Cathy found the clue that led authorities to come back out and continue the search. With their help, my husband was found. My family is forever grateful for the peace that it brought to us to know where my husband and the father of our children is. With our strong faith, we have been able to move on with our lives.
Garmin inReach Winner
Hello! We successfully completed our thru hike on September 14. Just wanted to say thank you again for all the advocacy, fundraising, and search and rescue efforts the foundation pursues.
When we started our planning for the PCT, I’ll be honest-I didn’t think a satellite device was necessary (mostly due to their upfront and ongoing costs). However, after this thru hike my opinion has changed.
While in the Sierras my husband was having altitude sickness. He wasn’t moving well, couldn’t breathe, and had no appetite. I hiked behind him with my finger on the SOS button all day. Similarly, I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe. While we never needed to actually press the button, I was SO relieved to have our Garmin InReach Mini with us. I won’t hike without a satellite device anymore – you don’t need it until you need it, but I would rather be safe. Our loved ones also very much appreciated having a check-in each night saying everything was alright.
Thank you for your work!
Karin Shinn
From Karin Shinn, Class of 2022PCT hiker
Greetings! I am a member of the PCT class of 2022. While hiking NB in the Trinity National Forest, I decided to take a shortcut to a water source that was marked as a forest service road on FarOut. Subsequently, this road became overgrown. In an attempt to retrace my steps, I ended up in a gulley surrounded by a heavily wooded & bushy steep incline in both directions. My GPS on FarOut showed my blue dot to be spinning! This, coupled with the fact that this ravine prevented me from seeing the actual direction of the sun, I became disoriented. After two hours of continuous attempts to break thru brush & climb up the incline (all the while holding my trekking poles as well as my phone for guidance), I realized I was lost.
I had watched a live presentation on the FB Class of 2022 Planning Page presented by this Foundation. I recall the stories of missing hikers coupled with the comments ” if only they had had a Garmin….” I decided to invest in this device for my hike, even though it involved a monthly subscription.
So at about 4 pm PST I hit the SOS button. I got a rapid return text from the main center asking if I was hurt, needed evacuation, food, water, etc…I said merely that I was lost. Otherwise, everything was OK. Feeling really stupid, I knew I was very close to the trail but just could not find it.
After texts back & forth from the local agency, at 6 pm a helicopter was circling directly overhead. I had to come out from under the tree I was resting under & go partially up the steep bank & wave the bright yellow underside of my Z-Lite mat so they could locate me.
They guided me out of the ravine up to the trail via a loudspeaker while circling overhead. It was a lot of hard work for me. But at least I was expending energy that would lead me back on trail, instead of continuing to get further lost!
It didn’t take long, & finally I was back on solid ground! I went a bit further to set camp when I heard someone calling me. The copter had landed a mile away in a field and the deputies had walked down the trail to make sure I was OK. I felt really dumb but they assured me I did the right thing, even topping off my water, leaving me with electrolyte packs & two protein bars.
I was embarrassed & didn’t tell my daughters until I returned off trail. After hearing my story, my 28 year old looked me straight in the eye & seriously said “Mom, I am so glad you pressed that button. I don’t know what I would have done if you just disappeared!”
So to the Fowler O’Sullivan Foundation, thank you so much for making it your mission not only to locate missing hikers, but also for insisting that every hiker get a Garmin In Reach. I realize now that I could very well have been the 2022 PCT hiker that went mysteriously missing!