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What is your interest in the Missing Americans Project?: I have been the following the 4 missing persons in Costa Rica. We were actually thinking of going on vacation there and I happened across the missing persons there. Needless to say, we aren't going to Costa Rica after this. Also, we travel and I have a young son who loves to travel and I can't imagine what these family members are going through.

Do you wish to be contacted directly by The Missing Americans Project? If so, please provide best way of reaching you below.: No

At 2:13pm on October 20, 2010, Jeff Dunsavage said…: Thanks a million, Norma. I will send this reporter a note.

Best,
Jeff

At 7:19am on January 12, 2010, Jeff Dunsavage said…: Thanks, Norma. Yes, we all need to be smarter travelers. The biggest eye-opener to me has been the consistent indifference of the embassies. It has become very clear to us that the embassies do not exist for the sake of helping mere U.S. citizens who get into trouble - they exist to ensure that certain kinds of activities and transactions occur smoothly. Anything that gets in the way of that is simply a nuisance that must be gotten off the plate as quickly as possible, The more people we get involved in our project the more pressure we can bring to seek greater accountability and transparency.

At 12:49am on January 11, 2010, Jeff Dunsavage said…: Norma - It occurs to me that you might want to write a letter to the Costa Rica Dept. of Tourism and to Costa Rica's embassy in the U.S. to let them know of your decision not to visit their country and way. The only way these tourism-based economies will go out of their way to make themselves safer is if they know safety considerations are affecting tourists' travel choices. Just a thought. If you decide to do so, please let us know.

Jeff

At 12:39am on January 11, 2010, Jeff Dunsavage said…: Norma - Thanks for your interest and support. I'm glad we've got you seriously thinking about the safety considerations in your travel destination choices. Just to be clear, we are not attempting to scare people away from these locations but rather to make them aware of the potential dangers so they can prepare themselves accordingly. Americans in particular tend to be very naive travelers. The most important lesson we've learned is that the U.S. embassies have little interest in helping individuals who disappear or their families. If you get into trouble and can't get to an embassy you are on your own.