Ben loved to travel and over the years spent countless months traveling the world. Over the winter holidays this year, he planned a three-week tour of Asia. On the last leg of this tour, Ben met up with his college friend Elizabeth (Libby) North on the resort island of Phi Phi, off the southern coast of Thailand.
As we all now know, an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia last Sunday morning, Dec. 26 at 7 a.m. (Chicago time: Saturday night, Dec. 25, at 6 p.m.). The earthquake caused a wall of water measuring 30 to 50 feet high (called a tsunami) to sweep into countless countries in southeast Asia, including Thailand and the island of Phi Phi.
Approximately three hours after the earthquake, the tsunami hit the island of Phi Phi. There was absolutely no advance warning of the tsunami. We know that Ben and Libby were talking together in Bungalow 155 of the Princess Resort when the tsunami hit. The tsunami caused the bungalow to collapse. The massive rush of water overcame Ben and Libby and carried Libby at least 50 yards (half a football field) back into the island.
Libby reports she was immersed underwater for several minutes and thought she was going to drown. After the water receded, Libby became trapped under tremendous debris, but was rescued after screaming for approximately two hours. Although she consistently screamed for Ben during that time period, no one answered. Libby is now in a Bangkok hospital and is recovering from a severed hand, a crushed leg, and serious infection to open wounds. Hope, Bob and David have spoken to Libby in the hospital on numerous occasions over the past few days, and she has been a tremendous help and support to the family.
Communication with Thailand during the first 24 hours of the disaster was practically non-existent. The primary source of information came from Dave's repeated telephone calls to staff at the Phuket International Hospital, where Libby was first transported. Phuket is a large resort city on the southern tip of Thailand. Pictures and specific identifying information of Ben were emailed to the hospital staff to determine whether he had been transported there as well. In addition to height, weight and description, the family communicated that Ben has a small but distinctive triangular tattoo on the inside of his left ankle and a birthmark on his left cheek.
Based on information in the news, the family also contacted the hospital in Krabi, another city on the southern coast of Thailand. Again, pictures and identifying descriptions were emailed to the hospital. At this time, Jerry Newton and David Weinberg made contact with and retained two Thai private investigator firms, with whom the family has had direct contact multiple times daily.
In addition to the private investigators, numerous American and Thai individuals in Thailand have taken on a personal search targeted for Ben only. This includes Josh Buswell, grandson of congregant Juanita Kaye, who was residing in Krabi when the tsunami hit. Josh has been specifically looking for Ben since Juanita contacted him on Tuesday. Also specifically look for Ben is an individual named Beth Sloven -- a good samaritan who lost her own home on Bang Tao beach -- who has stayed in Phuket to look for Ben. A contact through Bob's music connected us to Cliff Bamford, also residing in Phuket, who has been a big help on the ground over there. Cliff has been working alone and in conjunction with the family's private investigators. We also were referred to Mike Cegielski, a friend of a friend who has spent the last few days specifically looking for Ben.
Although the investigators, good samaritans and authorities have covered tremendous territory in Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi and Bangkok over the last five days, Ben has not yet been found. These people have traveled to public health facilities in Krabi and Phuket, where individuals recovered from Phi Phi are being consolidated. They have visually inspected each and every person in hopes of identifying Ben. They also reviewed records of all foreigners that were in the various clinics there, as well as those who had already been transported to Bangkok, and again, found no trace of Ben.
As of this moment, recovery efforts proceed on Phi Phi and are not complete. The island is under a soft quarantine due to sanitation concerns. The investigator has contacts within the Thai security apparatus and was able to travel to Phi Phi by speed boat yesterday morning. A systematic excavation of the Princess resort is underway and they are recovering additional victims, one by one. So far, Ben has not been recovered. The investigator reported to us that he walked overlapping and concentric circles beginning from the center of where he estimated Bungalow 155 was situated and checked every single pile of debris.
The investigator confirmed with us yesterday that DNA samples have been taken of each person recovered. Each person recovered also has been photographed and catalogued. The investigator requested Hope and Bob provide DNA samples which they did early this morning. We already have secured Ben's dental X-rays. Once we have the DNA results, we will send them with Ben's dental records to the police forensic lab in Bangkok and our investigator's office, also in Bangkok. The investigator says he will hand carry them to the police forensic lab and personally verify that the results are correctly coded into their matching database. If Ben has been recovered, this is when we will get a match.
Of course, the family has registered Ben as a missing American with both the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. The family has contact with the Embassy daily and was contacted by the Deputy Press Attach~ yesterday for detailed information in order to do a special television report on the 12 noon news (primetime) in Thailand yesterday.
