DELILAH ROSANNA YODER A$D JAMES LaVERN HERSCHBERGER MISSING PERSONS IN ECUADOR

Transcription

1 DELILAH ROSANNA YODER A$D JAMES LaVERN HERSCHBERGER MISSING PERSONS IN ECUADOR James and Delilah left the United States of America for Mexico the latter part of January 1976, traveled through Central America, and arrived in Ecuador in mid-april* They communicated regularly with their families until May 11. Ho one has heard from either of them since May 11. In March, Delilah and James each purchased in Panama a ticket to leave Ecuador (possession of such ticket being necessary in order to enter the country). The tickets were for a Braniff Airlines flight from Quito to Lima. Delilah said she would probably cash it in later, Indicating they would probably not take that route out of Ecuador* To date, Braniff Airlines has no record of this ticket having been either used or cashed in. On April 8, Delilah and James each purchased $500 in American Express Travelers checks In San Jose, Cos^ta Rica. Serial numbers have been obtained for these checks, and the American Express office Is attempting to sort out the cancelled travelers checks. Copies of these will be available as soon as possible. Any travelers checks that were cancelled after May 11 may be an indication of where they went and when. t In a letter dated April 24 from Quito, Delilah Indicated that after visiting Cuenca they would probably come back to Quito. They then might take a river trip through the eastern flatlands of Ecuador; and, afterwards, go into Peru via Iquitos either by river or plane. In letters dated May 6, both Delilah and James stated that the night they arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador, they met a Mr. Marcelo Carrion at the Hotel Hiltons. They said he had invited them to spend a week at one of his farms near Cuenca. They had just returned from the farm and were apparently again staying at the Hotel Hiltons when they wrote the May 6 letters. They also indicated that Mr. Carrion suggested they use his address (the address of his wife and children in Cuenca) for forwarding mail for the next several weeks: Marcelo Carrion Bolibar Casillo 350 Cuenca, Ecuador Delilah further stated in her May 6 letter that in five days to a week they would be going back to Quito and probably mail some things she had bought. (Nothing has been received; and according to her May 11 letter, the shipment date was postponed another several weeks.) They would then return to Cuenca to go with Mr. Carrion, who had invited them to another one of his ranches a "jungle farm" in the Macas area.

2 In James's letter of May 6, he described the farm they had just visited as "a ranch in the remote part of the Andes." He said there was a third American who had also been invited there by Mr. Carrion. James also said that Mr. Carrion had another ranch "oat in the eastern part over the Andes in the tungle" to which they planned to go for a week or two. He indicated that Mr. Carrion knew some Indians, including some Brujos or "Witchdoctors" who used quite a few natural medicines, they planned to visit Mr. Carrion's farm and some of the medicine men who Mr* Carrion knew, in the interest of obtaining information oil anti-cancer drugs. James stated that they were * having all their mail forwarded to Mr. Carrion. In her last communication (dated May 11), Delilah was said she had purchased American Express Travelers checks the day before (May 10) <** from "Ecuadorian Tours." She asked that $500 be put in her checking account to cover this. The records of the Ecuadorian Tours off ice do not show that she bought travelers checks. However, a Quito money changer "Rbdrigo Paz" has a record of Delilah having purchased $ worth of local currency and $100 worth of United States Currency. The personal check which she wrote was written to Ecuadorian Tours for $ and was endorsed by both "Ecuadorian Tours" and "Rodrigo Paz*" This is the last record of any financial transactions that were made either through their American Express cards or personal checks. * In the May 11 communication, Delilah indicated they were planning to leave *CtiAm»a nn Fr-tfrav/ Mav 14. to visit Mr. Carrion's "Jungle tarm" near teas and see some of ' the local medicine men who Mr. uarr ioii knew. She said "she would write "latar in the week." Haweveir. no letters have been received since that time. While in Quito, she gave the following address: Hotel Gran Casino Garcia Moreno, 330 y Ambato Quito, Ecuador Tel This hotel may have information as to their plans in the event they returned to Quito to take the river trip. However, the April 26 letter was prior to their meeting Mr. Carrion in Cuenca; and it is possible that their plans changed. On July 9, the American Embassy in Quito contacted Mr. Carrion by telephone in Cuenca*, It was indicated that he last saw them on May 12 as they were leaving Cuenca for Macas and that he expected them to return since they left luggage with him. On July 24, Mr. Carrion could not be contacted at his mailing address by messenger telephone call. The person who accepted the messenger call said he did not know a Marcelo Carrion and that there was another family living at that address. Call was placed through operator No (overseas operator). During the week of August 1, the American Embassy in Quito contacted Mr. Carrion at his residence by telephone. He told the Embassy that he took James and Delilah to his property in Macas and parted with them there.

3 On August 5, a phone call was placed to the Carrion residence in Cuenca. Mr. Carrion was not a home, but his "mother-in-law" stated that James and Delilah went east, looking for herbs. She said they had left Cuenca by carbus. The Carrions were also "concerned" abo*t James and Delilah since they had not heard from them since they left. The Carrions had received a lot of mail for them, and they had not returned to pick up the mail or the luggage they had left with them. On Friday, August 6, the Consolate of the Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington informed the Yoder family that the "Governor" of the Cuenca-Macas area had spoken to Mr. Carrion on July 29 and was told that he (Mr. Carrion) took James and Delilah to Macas and left them there. Mr. Carrion had indicated that they planned to go from there to the Amazon River. No indication was made that there was a third party with James and Delilah. On Sunday, August 8, the Carrion residence was again phoned. "Mrs. Carrion" answered the call; and while in conversation, she stated that Mr. Carrion had just arrived. Mr. Carrion stated that James and Delilah left Cuenca on May 29 and went to the Coca area of the Orient (Northwestern Ecuador), and that they did not go to Macas. Mr. Carrion stated that he did not invite them to visit his ranch* He believed nothing had happened to them. He was to be going to the Orient in about ten days and said that he would attempt to find them. Mr. Carrion stated that a third person, a Frenchman who knew the Amazon region very well, accompanied them. He said there was not a third American who went with them. * Letters from both James and Delilah to their families indicated that they had spent a week at one of Carrion's ranches and that he had invited them to visit another of his ranches in the jungle near Macas. In the last communications from James and Delilah (dated May 6 and May 11), they both indicated they planned to visit Mr* Carrion ranch during the next several weeks. They planned to leave Cuenca on Friday, May 14. On April 24, Delilah gave Lima Tours, Lima, Peru, as a forwarding address: Lima Tours, Ocona 160, P.O. Box 4340, Lima, Peru Tel ' ' '' On June 29, the American Express office in Lima, Peru was telephoned. They indicated that there was only one letter there for Delilah. It had arrived on June 1. On July 7,' another phone call was made to the American Express office in Lima, Peru* They again gave the same information: one letter for Delilah that had arrived June 1 and had not been picked up. An inquiry was made of James Herschberger; however, there was nothing there for him. On July 30, a phone call was made again to the Peru office. Conversation was held with Suzanne Morales. There were two letters there for Delilah (both from Ida Yoder). One had arrived June 1 and the other April 20. There were no letters for James. Morales stated that they had received from Delilah approximately two Weeks earlier a letter asking them to hold mall until she arrived. When questioned as to whether it was really that recent, she said it may have been a little earlier* Sho was unable to recall where the letter came from or when it was written. She said it was from somewhere in South America? perhaps Ecuador.

4 In a letter dated May 6 from James to his family, he stated that they were having all mail forwarded to Mr. Carrion's address. It is believed that the first letter from Ida to Delilah had probably already been forwarded to Mr. Carrion's address when inquiry was made by the American Express the previous times. However, since the American Express office now holds two letters for Delilah, we question whether or not the letter dated April 20 was forwarded to Carrion; and after the couple disappeared, he chose to return the mail to where it originated.. -..' ''.. * In a letter dated April 24, Delilah stated that she was sending a letter to American Express in Lima, Peru, asking them to hold her mail until she arrived. (This was before they met Mr* Carrion.) It is possible that the letter received by the American Express office from Delilah in mid-july was written much earlier and had been processed slowly through the mail systems. However, if by chance the letter was written recently, a tracing of its origin could be productive. Several discrepencies and questions are apparent: 1. The date they left Cuenco: May 12, May 14, or May 29. Delilah was in Quito May 1$. It is not likely they returned to Cuenca and left in ta>& day. 2. Whether they went alone or with a third person 3. Whether they went to Macas or to Coca 4. Whether Carrion accompanied them to Macas; if, indeed, they went to Macas. 5. Mr. Carrion says he did not invite them to his ranch. 6. Is it possible that the Mr. Carrion to whom the phone calls were made was not always the same Mr. Carrion? 7. Is it possible the couple never left Quito to go back to Cuenca and then to Macas after cashing the $ in local currency on May 10. (The last communication was on May 11 from Quito.) Ik Possible leads in finding the couple are: 1. Learning the facts from Mr. Carrion. 2. Questioning the people Who live at the farm they visited and the one they planned to visit. 3. Finding out from Mr* Carrion who the "medicine men" are that he either took them to see or sent them to, and questioning these individuals. 4. Locating or finding the name and address of the third American who visited the first of Ma. Carrion's farms with James and Delilah. 5. Checking with the French Embassy in Quito as to whether there is also a Frenchman missing in that area. (Mr. Richardson has checked. None have been reported as missing as of August 30, 1976.

5 5 Checking with the Hotel Hiltons (and/or other hotels) in Cuenca as to whether James and Delilah arrived back in Cuenca from Quito on May 11 or later in weefc, 12. Checking with Hotel Gran Casino in Quito as to when they were last there. 6. Checking the luggage they left with Mr. Carrion for clues as to where they were going. (Films SKobM be developed 9$ Jeff" 7. Checking with the merchants who cashed the travelers checks as soon as the cancelled checks are available from American Express. * 8. Border checks by the immigrations of Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Some of these have already been made. There is no evidence they crossed out of Ecuador. Immigration authorities have checked and found no record of "their crossing out of Ecuador. 9. Is the "Frenchman11 the same as the "American" Who visited the first farm? (Possibly French-Canadian) 10. Checked with all banks Of Cuenca, Quito, and Guyaquil; no record of money transactions. The following help has been obtained: 1. Help of Ham radio operators, both here and throughout Ecuador. 2. The mayor of Macas has given full co-operation. Information could be obtained from him as to what has already been done in that area. <* 3. HCJB (Voice of the Andes) has been broadcasting the information. (Herb Kinard) 4. American Embassy in Quito (Mr. Richardson) has done a lot of research. «5. The couple have presumably been reported as missing in the Ecuadorian newspapers. (A check should be made as to whether this has been done.) 6. The Ecuadorian government has apparently made some attempt to locate them. Information concerning these persons should be directed to the nearest American consolate or to the following: Ida Yoder Nash Place Kensington, Maryland USA Phone: Evenings