Local PSR Pilot saves the day.

[Gladiator]

I can now say it was Tim Reynolds. My only comment on the article is, PSR is all walks of life. Not just professionals.

News: Coto pilot recounts tale of bringing boy home | reynolds, ryan, boy, pilot, department - OCRegister.com

Coto pilot recounts tale of bringing boy home
Sheriff's officials tapped volunteer Cessna pilot to pick up Ryan Ramos, 9, from El Paso and deliver him to John Wayne Airport.
By GREG HARDESTY
The Orange County Register
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SANTA ANA – Flight instructor Tim Reynolds was between lessons Sunday when he got the phone call.

"Can you fly to El Paso immediately?'' David Corsiglia, a reserve lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, asked him.

A 9-year-old boy, Ryan Ramos, needed to be picked up.

Reynolds, a pilot for more than 30 years, cancelled his next lesson as well as a planned charter to Catalina to pick up a newly engaged couple.

He had heard in the news about the Portola Hills boy, missing since Wednesday after his father allegedly shot his mother and fled with Ryan during a custody exchange.

The news that Ryan had been found was news to Reynolds.

Now, authorities had tapped Reynolds to bring the boy home after the boy turned up in a Mormon church in the border town of Juarez, Mexico.

It was a plum assignment for the volunteer with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Reynolds, 52, of Coto de Caza, is one of the law enforcement agency's more than 430 Professional Services Responders — now-sworn and non-reserve volunteer pilots, lawyers, doctors and other professionals who make themselves available to the sheriff's department for special missions and assignments.

For Reynolds, this was the mission of a lifetime.

"I felt it was very important to bring (the boy) back," Reynolds said in an interview Monday afternoon on the west tarmac of John Wayne Airport, where his blue-and-white, twin-engine Cessna 310 gleamed in the sunshine.

"I wanted to do whatever I could," he said.

Co-pilot Al Pregler, a retired United Airlines pilot from Fullerton, and two sheriff's department investigators, Mario Gutierrez and Mike Starnes, settled into the beige leather seats of Reynolds' airplane.

Getting Reynolds to pick Ryan up saved the sheriff's department money. Normally, such a charter would cost $600 an hour, Reynolds said. The OCSD instead paid only for fuel for the Cessna (about $1,200), the hotel room, and other incidentals.

The plane was in the air by 2 p.m Sunday for the 3½-hour flight. In all the excitement, Reynolds had forgotten to eat. Adrenaline proved to be enough.

Flying at about 200 mph at an altitude up to 11,500 feet, Reynolds steered the 1975 aircraft through thunderstorms over Arizona and New Mexico, covering the 700 miles and touching down in El Paso, Texas in cloudy and windy weather at 6:30 p.m. local time.

Where was Ryan?

The boy still was at the U.S. Consulate in Juarez.

Officials from the State Department, U.S. Marshall's office and other agencies negotiated for the boy's release, but red tape caused delays.

Reynolds was told to book a room at a Holiday Inn and wait for orders. He and Pregler rented a car and drove to a steakhouse for dinner.

They were back in their room when they got a call around 8 p.m. that Ryan might be ready in about an hour. With thunderstorms, and with Reynolds on little sleep, a decision was made to depart El Paso at 7 a.m. Monday.

Reynolds was in bed for about five hours, but figures he slept only one.

Adrenaline.

Monday morning at around 6 a.m., Reynolds saw Ryan for the first time at the hotel.

The boy bounded out of an elevator, wearing a green-and-white-striped polo shirt, green khaki shorts, black sneakers and white socks.

"He had a great attitude," Reynolds said. "Most boys that age, being handed over to a bunch of strangers, would start freaking. But he didn't.

"Never once did he ask, 'Where's my dad?' or say, 'I want my mom.' That's the part that blew me away."

Ryan knew his father had hurt his mother but did not know the details, authorities later said.

Neither did Ryan know that his father had been killed Sunday afternoon in an automobile accident in Juarez, in what authorities say may have been a suicide.

Like most 9-year-old boys, Ryan was excited about hopping into a small plane to return to Orange County, Reynolds said.

For him, it was an adventure.

After a breakfast of Fruit Loops and apple juice, Ryan got into the six-seat Cessna, sitting directly behind the pilot.

Authorities had purchased game books and writing instruments and a pad to keep him occupied during the flight, which was noisy and required all to wear bulky headphones.

Reynolds had asked Ryan if he wanted to help pilot the plane.

"Oh no," the boy told him. "It's too hard."

After about 15 minutes in the air, Ryan fell asleep. The adults put a blanket over him.

Halfway through the flight, Ryan got airsick. He fell back asleep and was awake for about the last 30 minutes of the flight.

Ryan's grandparents, other relatives and dozens of law enforcement officials were awaiting him at John Wayne Airport, where the sheriff's department keeps its helicopters.

Reynolds' plane touched down at 9:30 a.m.

The pilot was too busy with his aircraft to bid a formal goodbye to Ryan, who was swallowed up in a crowd of loved ones and well-wishers.

Later, the sleep-starved pilot who dropped his plans on a holiday weekend to fly halfway across the country to bring a boy home said it was all worth it.

"I feel very lucky and honored to have been asked to do this," Reynolds said. "This is why I volunteer. I'm very lucky to be able to do something that means so much.

"I tried to handle this mission as if he were my own child."

Contact the writer: 949-454-7356 or ghardesty@ocregister.com

[AMS MIKE]

heart warming story.

[Female Instructor]

This article speaks volumes about the "little" things PSRs do for our community. Most volunteer work that the PSRs do isn't so special, but it all goes toward a common goal of giving back to our community and saving money for our Sheriff's Dept. Way to go!

[akulahawk]

This is a wonderful addition to this story, that we've been following for a while. I'm glad he's back in OC, safe.

[X-ffdo]

Al Pregler!!!......Remember the UFOs in Alaska?

[BonoVox]

I am speechless!!! The OCSD, Professional Service Responders really do make a difference! It is so awesome to see the volunteer unit highlighted in the OC Register!

What a great article too! Have to say I felt chills more than once during it.

A very special thanks to Tim Reynolds for his extraordinary service to his fellow man, the OCSD and the County of Orange County!!!!

Wow made my day!!!!

I would like to add from my interaction with a lot of people that are PSRs. They are indeed professional but not necessarily "professionals" in the true sense of the word. They come from all walks of life, with a common theme to serve their fellow man, their county and the OCSD!

[THE Gimper]

Excellent. This really shows the value of the PSR program. I'm glad all of the volunteers are there.

[2point0vtec]

WOW...very speechless... wish there were more people in the world like him..

[Glock32]

One needs to be blind to not see the benefits of the PSR program.

My kudos to the pilot and co-pilot. This is what America is all about!

[Justaguy]

On many issues, government officials and politicians talk about partnering with the community.

This story is a perfect example of what a true partnership with community members looks like. PSRs are more than just "successful civilians". They are community members from all walks of life and a wide variety of skill sets. What they do have in common is this: the desire to make their community a better place to live. The proof is in the thousands of hours they volunteer and absence of any paycheck for that priviledge.

God bless the PSR volunteers and the OCSD staff who commit their time and efforts to make this a truly great program.

[rycerz]

Very cool indeed!

[Mad Geek]

Great end to a tragic story.

I'm rather suprised that other counties don't have a PSR program setup like Orange County. It provides the community a way to help and show they care about what happens in and around their homes, all while augmenting the outreach of the Sherriff's department.

Here's to you, Orange County PSRs and OCSD.

And here's to you, GREG HARDESTY, for a well written article.

[WKC]

I remembered at the PSR appointment ceremony in February that the program was being used as a model for the state and federal government. I hope other PSR's that were there can confirm or correct me.

[TaxMan]

Originally Posted by WKC

I remembered at the PSR appointment ceremony in February that the program was being used as a model for the state and federal government. I hope other PSR's that were there can confirm or correct me.

I remember something like that being mentioned.

[Apeman88]

Great article!!