Search for missing Trophy Club man scales back to recovery mission

Crews looking for a missing Trophy Club man are searching only on water Thursday at Denton Creek, officials said.

Search efforts for Matthew Meinert, 38, have focused on land, air and water since Monday. Starting Thursday, the land and air crews will be available if needed but not actively searching, said Texas Game Warden Cliff Swofford.

“We’ve looked at every stick and every rock. We tried everything we could, to no avail,” Swofford said.

The search is in full recovery mode, Swofford said. Game wardens will be out in rotating teams of two searching the water and banks three to four times a day.

Investigators haven’t found any definitive evidence showing what happened, but what they have found leads them to believe Meinert went into the water, Swofford said.

Meinert’s 2-year-old son, Oliver, was found in a wooded area around Denton Creek, near Lake Grapevine, about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday when he walked up to a game warden and a Flower Mound police officer.

The boy spent one night at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth as a precaution. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with unexpected expenses.

Police said Meinert launched a fishing boat from a ramp in Trophy Club about 5 p.m. Monday. About an hour later, his boat was found beached off Denton Creek, just west of U.S. 377, said Sgt. Tracey Shields, Trophy Club police spokesman.

Authorities immediately began searching after Meinert’s boat was found containing fishing gear, shoes and a cellphone, officials said.

Although winds were high Monday, with gusts up to 41 mph at the nearby Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Swofford said rough water was likely not a factor because the creek is typically not as choppy as the lake.

The creek in that area is 5-to-10-feet deep, with lots of hazards, Shields said.

“The [Meinert] family is very grateful for the love and support they have received from our Trophy Club community,” police said in a Facebook post for the family.

More than 50 people from multiple jurisdictions have participated in the search, which has included at least one helicopter, drones, a K-9 team and at least three boats, said Brandon Barth, Flower Mound Fire Department emergency management officer.

Agencies assisting include Trophy Club, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Roanoke police, as well as the game warden, the Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Secret Service. The Secret Service assisted with accessing data on Matthew Meinert’s cellphone that might identify the boat’s route, Shields said.

This report contains material from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Search for missing Trophy Club man scales back to recovery mission."