In the months following the July 4 floods along the Guadalupe River, volunteers with Found on the Guadalupe River have recovered thousands of personal items swept away by the water. Photographs, shoes, heirlooms, and keepsakes, each one carrying a story.

This week, that work took one Boerne volunteer more than 16,000 miles round trip.

Teri Hauger, a Boerne-area resident and longtime volunteer with Found on the Guadalupe River, recently traveled to New Zealand carrying a flood-recovered suitcase as her carry-on luggage. Inside were clothing items belonging to a former camp counselor from Heart of the Hills whose belongings had been displaced by the floods and eventually recovered months later.

The owner lives overseas, making traditional international shipping difficult and cost-prohibitive. When organizers began exploring options, Hauger, who already had travel plans to New Zealand, offered a simple solution. She would hand-deliver the suitcase herself.

And she did.

One Suitcase, Thousands of Miles, One Family Reunited

Found on the Guadalupe River is a Boerne-based, volunteer-led initiative formed in the immediate aftermath of the floods. What began as a grassroots Facebook group has grown into an organized recovery effort with more than 52,000 members and a core group of eight volunteers who work continuously to recover, clean, catalog, and return belongings to their owners.

Hauger’s trip is a reflection of the group’s larger mission.

Over the past six months, she has logged an estimated 6,500 miles driving back and forth between Boerne and the organization’s warehouse in Ingram, Texas, helping sort and reunite flood-displaced items. That same commitment carried across oceans.

“This is what stewardship looks like,” said Dondi Persyn, founder of Found on the Guadalupe River. “Our volunteers don’t just show up. They follow through. These items carry memory, identity, and meaning, and sometimes returning them means going to the ends of the earth.”

With the help of a local benefactor Cordonate covering return shipping costs, the organization has already reunited belongings with owners across the United States, from Michigan to California, and into Mexico. This delivery marked one of their farthest returns yet.

From Flood Recovery to Ongoing Mission

Found on the Guadalupe River began as an emergency response but has since evolved into an ongoing effort rooted in care, patience, and persistence. Each item recovered is treated with respect, documented carefully, and matched with its owner whenever possible, no matter how long it takes or how far it must travel.

What was lost in the flood is not always replaceable. But when it can be returned, this group makes sure it is.

For those following the work from Boerne, the story of a single purple suitcase traveling halfway around the world is a reminder of what community looks like at its best. Quiet, determined, and deeply human.

To learn more about Found on the Guadalupe River or support their work, visit www.FOUND-Project.com or email fotgproject@gmail.com