FBI Joins Hunt for American Missing in Nepal

[Jeff Dunsavage]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is helping the U.S. State Department in the search for a Colorado woman who disappeared while trekking through Nepal, according to this Associated Press article. It is great to see the U.S. government taking an active interest in a missing persons case for a change. The question in my mind is, why is this case the anomaly? What does it take to get State and the FBI to consider a case worth investigating?

Related Articles

Mystery of Missing U.S. girl deepens after 2 months - Himalayan Times

Father's search for missing CU grad in Nepal unsuccessful - Fox 31 KDVR.com

FBI Joins Hunt for Missing Colo. Trekker in Nepal KMGH Denver

[kirsten davies]

I mean Americans who have the money to fly to countries like Nepal to go trekking, Jeff. I still don't feel its the responsiblity of the US govt to rescue us. There's something to be said for taking personal responsiblity. I've lived in South Asia, Jeff and traveled all over Southeastern Asia, India and Nepal, mostly by myself. If I were a victim of a crime, I would hope my government would do all it could to encourage the local authorities of that country to use their resources to find her. But i still wouldn't expect its my government's responsiblity if I choose to go trekking in Nepal. Speaking of "poor", Nepalese are poor. The Nepal army and police are poor. They cannot use their limited manpower to go out and search for missing persons without resources, themselves. Do you think the American Govt should pay the salaries of the Nepal army and police so they can search for Aubrey? Nepal has lots of political turmoil right now. Everything can't just stop at the beck and call of this one family. Its very sad, and my heart goes out to them. but its not the responsiblity of our Govt.

[Jeff Dunsavage]

Oops! I didn't see the second half of your post. I don't know about Nepal, but as far as the Central American countries I've been dealing with -- they receive hundreds of millions in direct aid from Western countries, as well as having their economies propped up by tourism and active philanthropy. In my opinion, cooperating with the authorities from the U.S. or other aid-giving, economy-supporting countries when one of our citizens gets into trouble is the least they can do.

[Jeff Dunsavage]

It's a great question, Kirsten. My short answer is, the State Department exists to look after U.S. interests abroad and that it already spends huge amounts defending and subsidizing the interests of multinationals in these countries. The cost of a search & rescue operation for an individual citizen is less than a rounding error by comparison. If State would come completely clear with how it is spending the rest of our tax dollars, I could have a better-informed conversation about this. Also, the epithet "rich" is relative -- do you mean "rich Americans" as in all Americans, compared with the people in the countries they are visiting? Or do you mean "rich Americans" as opposed to "poor and middle-class Americans".

[kirsten davies]

The question I have is, why should our American Govt and taxpayers money go to pay for rich Americans who decide to take treks in foreign countries? It states clearly on the US Dept of State website that search and rescue is done at the expense of the family. If you need a helicopter evacuation, you have to prove you can pay for it. I'm sorry but as sad as it is that this woman is missing, I don't see that its the responsiblity of our govt to search for everyone. Plus, what the hell can the FBI do in Nepal? Its not their country. They can put pressure on the Nepali authorities, but how would you feel if you were the Nepal police and some country began telling you that the way you were going about it is all wrong?