This will be very brief.<\/p>\n
I have not talked to anyone in Kiev since the very end of the day yesterday. It’s late afternoon\/early evening there as I write this and Jay still has not been found.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure what the focus was going to be today. I know that we were expecting to get many church members out and canvass the area around the Union office some more. I also know that there was a plan to talk to people entering the park during the early morning hours to see if we could gather any more information that way. But other than that, I don’t have more details.<\/p>\n
As I said yesterday – when you’re thousands of miles away, you always want more information, and wish you knew more. It’s just the way of things, and we’ll just have to get used to feeling that way – because I doubt that the way I feel, or the amount of information I get, is likely to change. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Several answers to questions regularly asked:<\/p>\n
1) Have you tried dogs?
\nDogs were evidently used, early in the search, several days ago. But since it’s rained several times, they wouldn’t be useful for tracking someone. I know they have been considered again, attempting to find if Jay were in a spot we couldn’t see, but the dog could smell. [Think air-scenting vs tracking dog.] I don’t know what ultimate decision has been reached, but I think that most of these kinds of working dogs are in the hands of the police, or disaster services and I don’t believe the full weight of these government services have been available to us. [And no, I don’t think any of us here on this side of the world really know why. I’m not sure any of the people in Kiev know why either. This has seemed to change a bit over the last day or so, so perhaps this will be a more viable option soon.]<\/p>\n
2) Did he have a cell-phone or GPS?
\nNo, he didn’t have a cellphone or GPS with him. While he took his phone with him to Ukraine, he didn’t use it in-country that I’m aware of. You know, “old guys” just aren’t as driven to SIM unlock their phones and get a local SIM so they can text all their friends and take calls on the sidewalk and every where else. Plus, since he used Skype to talk to people back home, there just wasn’t as much need. It is too bad that’s the case, because it would have given us a lot of great tracking data – but alas, it’s not to be.<\/p>\n
3) Has a reward been offered?
\nThis has been considered, and at least early on, the best expert advice I could get seemed to indicate that this would likely result in more information and leads, but that it would also likely greatly increase the amount of inaccurate information too. Generally it was felt that it would likely do more harm than good. Since there’s an expert on site now, we tend to defer to his advice, and I am not aware if this has been discussed recently.<\/p>\n
So that’s all I have for this morning. I’ll see if I can get more detail without hindering the work that’s going on.<\/p>\n
Oh, and while I’ve left this to last, as an aside, it’s not a side issue for me … Many have asked how Mom is doing.<\/p>\n
As you might imagine – she’s extremely worried. She wants more detail, and is terribly anxious as each hour, day, and probably minute, passes. But I’m amazed at how well, considering the situation, she has done. She appreciates the thoughts you’ve sent via email and comments here, and knowing how she and Dad have touched peoples lives, and that you care. So thanks. We all appreciate it.<\/p>\n
Again, I’ll come back with more information as I have it.<\/p>\n
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