"Gengel still among the missing in Haiti; All other members of university group now accounted for" by John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff | February 14, 2010
Of the 12 students and two faculty members who were in Haiti on a community service trip from Lynn University, only Britney Gengel of the Central Massachusetts community of Rutland remains unaccounted for.
Yesterday, officials at the Boca Raton, Fla., university said they were told that the body of professor Richard Bruno had been recovered under the ruins of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince. The students and teachers were staying in the hotel when the earthquake struck Jan. 12.
On Friday, the bodies of Patrick Hartwick, Lynn’s education dean, and Stephanie Crispinelli, a sophomore from Katonah, N.Y., were recovered.
Gengel was reportedly napping in her third-floor hotel room when the quake struck....
Eight of the 12 students were rescued quickly after the earthquake. Early reports from a private contractor in the region indicated, incorrectly, that all 12 students had been saved. The Gengel family held vigil in Florida for nine days waiting for news about Britney.
Last week the bodies of two other students, Christine Gianacaci and Courtney Hayes, were recovered....
--more--""In Haiti, closure for Mass. family; Missing student’s body finally found; Rutland’s Gengel was an ‘inspiration’" by Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent | February 15, 2010
Shortly after she arrived in Haiti last month, Britney Gengel told her parents she had found her life’s calling: helping people in poor regions with their struggles.
The 19-year-old from Rutland was in Port-au-Prince Jan. 12 on a service trip called Journey of Hope with teachers and fellow students from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., when an earthquake devastated the impoverished nation. Her parents endured a month of anxiety and heartache as Gengel remained missing. Yesterday, her body was found in the ruins of the hotel where the group had been staying.
She was the last of the Lynn University group to be located. The Gengel family said in a statement yesterday they were notified that her body was recovered by US Army Colonel Norberto Cintron, who is in charge of the recovery effort at the Hotel Montana, and identified by the US Department of State.
“Our hearts ache for the Gengel family,’’ said US Representative James McGovern, who had accompanied the Gengels to Haiti in late January. “This is obviously not the news we were hoping for, but it helps bring some closure for the family.’’
Related: It Helps to Have Friends in Haiti
According to a family friend, state Senator Stephen Brewer, a funeral Mass for Gengel probably will be said Saturday at St. John’s Catholic Church in Worcester.
Her parents, Leonard and Cherylann Gengel, released a statement in which they described Britney as their Valentine, and said their “hearts are breaking’’ at her death.
Yeah, that brought some water.
“We sat with her before she left and talked about this trip being a life-changing event,’’ the family wrote in its statement. “We never knew that this trip would change our lives and her forever.’’
Wars do that, too.
Soon after the earthquake, the Gengels were informed that their daughter was alive, and they traveled to Florida to meet her.
They learned that the report was false and more than a month for news....
See: Code Red24 For Haiti
Globe has covered up those connections ever since.So what is there true mission, readers?
Records retrieval?
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Also see: Whose That Girl in Haiti?
