Founder of Hug-a-Tree faced murder, movie stars, in long border career
By Nancy Slaff
For The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — Two days had passed, adding to the fear that all was not well. Starting with zero and trying to achieve something close to heroic, an off-duty fireman reported he had seen what appeared to be a Border Patrol vehicle in a ravine, almost buried by brush.
Hiking through deep chaparral in the nearby Anza mountains, they found the concealed vehicle and tracked several footprints to a nearby cabin. Inside, handcuffed together and shackled to a wood stove lay the bodies of Border Patrol Agents George Azrak and Theodore Newton, both shot in the back of the head.
The date was June 15, 1967, and will live forever in the memory of retired Senior Border Patrol agent Albert “Ab” Taylor, who found the abandoned vehicle and tracked the sign to the cabin. After FBI agents took the investigation, an informant led to the arrest of the four suspects nearly one month later. None were given the death penalty.
One, Victor Bono, was released from prison in 1998 because, according to the parole judge, it was “vindictive to keep him in prison.”
The second, Florencio Mationg was scheduled for a parole hearing last year.
A man gifted with excellent tracking abilities and a sense of purpose, Taylor is not one to take praise for his accomplishments. “My life certainly has had its sad moments and happy moments,”
Taylor recalls with grim irony. Another tragic event involved the search for Jimmy Beveridge, lost near the Palomar mountains in 1981. Little Jimmy, age 11, had gone hiking with family members when he became separated. After days of futile search and rescue efforts by other
agencies, Jimmy’s grandfather called Ab Taylor, a renowned tracker, and asked for help. By the time Taylor was called, three days had passed.
Taylor located the body — Jimmy’s young life was lost to the harsh mountain environment.
Following his retirement from the Border Patrol, he founded Hug-A-Tree, a personal devotion aimed at teaching children how to survive before they become lost. Simply put, go to the nearest tree…and stay there. Of course, it is best to carry water, and a whistle, and lots of other survival items, but very often people, certainly children, take off on a hike not thinking that a loss of direction may lurk around the next hillside.
Over the years, Taylor and friends took that program to international levels, traveling all over the world. He trained other search and rescue groups so they, in turn, could visit schools in their own areas and teach children to save themselves by…staying put.
His devotion to Hug-A-Tree overshadowed the sometimes thankless, and certainly political, aspects of civil service life. But he has no regrets for his time on the border. His innate tracking expertise was honed in the patrol, along with the reward of working with other highly skilled agents, many of whom involved themselves in successful citizen searches.
Border Patrol life was not without fun and adventure, taking, for instance, the night he was assigned a civilian ride-along. Perching a star light scope out their Jeep window, they waited quietly for the large group expected to complete its nighttime journey over the nearby hillside.
While waiting, he gave the naive passenger his version of all the expertise necessary to be a successful Border Patrol agent, and how to snare those wayward folks who head north across the border.
At this moment, the San Diego County Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter flew overhead, circled, noted the Border Patrol vehicle and decided to illuminate the area with its searchlights for the next five minutes. Of course, all hope of surprising any illegal-type folks disappeared.
Then, in front of the same passenger, Taylor alighted from his vehicle to cross the then-un-completed I-805 near Chula Vista, tripped, and fell down the construction embankment, where he lost his hat. So much for heroics.
On another occasion, a Back Country rancher pleaded with him to help herd a few dozen cattle back into their corral.
Rounding up cattle, or tracking immigrants with cow hooves taped to their shoes, or tracking those who tried walking backward across the border was just part of a days work — as it still is today. Sometimes, they had to pry human beings out of dummy gas tanks. Nothing has changed, he mused: the same tactics, with different people — and a whole lot more of them, too.
Taylor eventually went on to greater things, including a movie made after his life: Borderline, starring actor Charles Bronson.
A definite highlight in his life, it began as an idea created by actor Robert Redford who asked a friend to do a screenplay on the subject. The writer was introduced to Taylor who acted as consultant and a bit actor, along with some of his fellow agents. The story line evolved from his experiences, including a plot and scenes developed around the Azrak/Newton tragedy.
Born in Texas, Albert Snow Taylor joined the Border Patrol in 1949, his first assignment near the Imperial Valley. He was ultimately given Senior Agent in Charge authority at the old El Cajon location.
He retired in 1979, founding and developing the Hug-A-Tree-Foundation. Although his heart is still there, and his memory of Jimmy Beveridge never falters, he no longer has the time or energy to maintain this important program. A few years ago, he made the decision to turn it over to the National Search and Rescue Association.
He said he still owes a debt of gratitude to people like Mountain Search and Rescue’s Lois McCoy whose strength and fortitude guided him over not only mountains, but mountains of problems.
Also involved was Tom Jacobs, who, Taylor said, did much of the writing involved in the education elements of
the concept.
And much of this would not have transpired without the Hug-a-Tree partnership with his wife of over 20 years, Lillian.
So now, he makes rural East County his home. He devotes time to his own children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren.
To those who don’t know him, he is just a regular guy who loves to gab.
But to others, he is a hero.
 E-mail
the Editor
|
|
