I’m taking a departure from my normal travel adventures to ask for your help. We sometimes have a tendency to push tragedies out of our minds, dismissing them as having happened so far away that they really don’t impact us. We are compassionate, certainly, but we don’t really do much of anything. Today I had a vivid reminder of just how small the world is when I received an email from a friend of mine who lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where I lived for nearly 11 years. He informed me that mutual acquaintances of ours, Andy and Jean Anderson, are searching for their daughter, Taylor, who hasn’t been seen since the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.
Taylor is living in Japan, teaching American culture to children in Mangokuura Elementary School in the town of Ishinomaki, which was virtually ground zero for the tsunami. She has not been heard from since the earthquake despite a previous erroneous report that she was found. The State Department is now engaged in the search and there is still hope that Taylor will be found, as many parts of the area are still physically cut off. However, resources are too few and search and rescue teams are confronted with an environment than we cannot imagine. To make matters worse, cell communication is spotty and satellite phones are desperately needed.
The United States currently has American Disaster Assistance Rescue Teams (DART) on the ground but they are not assisting with the search and rescue operations. The Andersons are asking that we all contact our Senators and Congressman and deliver a message that the State Department needs to deploy the necessary resources to find Taylor and any other American still unaccounted for in Japan.
Andy and Jean know this is a long shot, but are trying desperately to pursue every option to find their daughter. If you know anyone in the area or have any thoughts on what to do, please let them know by leaving a comment on this blog. They will be monitoring it. We all thank you for whatever you can do to assist, even if it just prayers or a few phone calls.
Update: Sadly, it was subsequently confirmed that Taylor was one of the many victims of the Tsunami. My heart and prayers go out to her family and the many people who loved her.
Spreading the word, Barbara.
Thanks Sophie. No good news yet but I still have hope.
I saw your post when I was searching for updates on Taylor. I have been reaching out to every contact I have and the link to her wiki page is getting in front of people who are on the ground http://bit.ly/hCm7Pt
If we can continue to use our social networks and find people on the ground I hope we can find more information. I know all of the official government and charity channels are engaged but if we can get a grassroots search I know we can be successful. Just through facebook and twitter I have found people who are trying to help on the ground. We all have the ability to connect to someone, the world is a shockingly small place. Just remember to keep hope alive 🙂
Kira
Thank you so much Kira. The networking ability available to us these days
through the zInternet is absolutely incredible and I am holding out hope
that she will be found alive and well.
Barb,
Spreading the word every which way I can. Hope and pray.
I’m so sorry to hear it, Barbara. My heart aches for the everyone in Japan and for your friends on the Outer Banks. Sending prayers their way. Wish there were more I could do.
Darrelyn: Prayers are good too, never underestimate its power. Sending you
lots of love.
My thoughts and prayers are with Taylor and her family.
So sorry to hear. We’ve retweeted this story to our friends in hope it helps.
Thank you all so very much. I just got word that Matador Network is working
on a feature story about Taylor after reading my post. Maybe if we can get
enough action going fast enough we can make a difference. I am praying we
can.