"Fla. college seeks source of false report" by John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff | January 18, 2010
Lynn University of Boca Raton, Fla., wants to know why a private contractor provided faulty information about the whereabouts of a student from Massachusetts and three of her classmates who remain unaccounted for after the collapse of a hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On Thursday, the families of Britney Gengel, 19, of Rutland and her classmates, who were in Haiti for a service project, traveled to Florida after being told their children were rescued after Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake. After arriving, however, the families were told the information was incorrect and that the students were missing. Gengel’s parents, Len and Cherylann, have since held emotional press conferences and implored the US government to do more to find the missing students.
As rescue efforts continued today, a Lynn University spokesman said the school wanted answers and had asked its insurance company, which booked rescue crews, why British security firm red24 provided the wrong information.
Related: Code Red24 For Haiti
“We’re very troubled by that, as you might expect. Therefore, we are anxious to learn what happened,’’ said Jason Hughes, the spokesman. “What we have done is ask that the insurance provider that appointed that contractor . . . launch an investigation.’’
Hughes stressed, however, that the university appreciated the efforts by all rescuers on the ground in Haiti. “This is a contractor we continue to work with,’’ he said. “We continue to appreciate the work they are doing on our behalf because they are on the ground and they are our eyes and ears there.’’
Red24, which Hughes confirmed yesterday was the contractor, conducts hundreds of privately funded rescue efforts every year. The firm, whose website says it is actively helping clients in Haiti, is one of several companies that assist people in high-risk situations like kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. A spokesman for the firm, based in England, did not return calls to his office seeking comment.
Note what they left out, readers?
The families of the students remained in Boca Raton awaiting word. Len Gengel did not return calls to his cellphone yesterday. Hughes said an additional rescue team was on the ground, searching what remains of the Hotel Montana, where the students were staying. That brought the number of rescue teams on the site to six, including private contractors and teams from Ecuador and France, Hughes said....
On Saturday, rescuers reported that three survivors were in the hotel’s wreckage, but crews were still unable to reach them yesterday. Hughes said he did not know whether any of the survivors were from Lynn University. A spokesman for the US Agency for International Development, which is coordinating rescue efforts, said American search-and-rescue teams were working yesterday at eight locations, including Hotel Montana.
Lynn University students have been holding nightly vigils on campus in Boca Raton, still hoping for the safe return of the students and professors, according to a statement released by the school. Founded in 1962, Lynn University has 1,800 undergraduate and 400 graduate students from 40 states and 80 countries. Twenty-four percent of its students are international, giving it the highest per-capita number of international students among master’s degree-level colleges. The school requires its students to complete a study-abroad session in order to graduate.
--more--"Haven't heard anything since.
