BOCA RATON, Fla. — Find the Americans missing in Haiti and bring them home, Lynn University’s president told Congress on Thursday.
Kevin Ross urged the country’s top brass to put more resources into finding all the Americans trapped in the rubble that was once the Hotel Montana. Four students and two professors from the Boca Raton university who were staying there have been missing since the Jan. 12 earthquake hit the island nation.
In a news conference Thursday evening, Ross called
upon the federal government to do whatever it takes to make sure all
the Americans missing in Haiti are returned home, dead or alive.
“This is needed for every grieving father, son,
mother, daughter, friend and neighbor who is aching at this very moment
for a phone call,” he said. “When that phone call comes, it should
contain news of the whereabouts of a missing family member. Whether
dead or alive, they must be returned home.”
Ross said he plans to send a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and has obtained the support of U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Fla.
Linda Poliseno, a friend of missing student Courtney Hayes’ family from New Jersey, said she worried the Americans at the Hotel Montana have been overlooked.
“I just don’t want them to be forgotten,” she said. “They might still be alive.”
Kelly Bruno, daughter of one of the two missing professors, said she also felt a sense of urgency.
“Whether dead or alive, these family members need to be brought home,” she said.
The missing are Hayes, 23, of Boca Raton; Britney Gengel, 19, of Rutland, Mass.; Stephanie Crispinelli, 19, of Katonah, N.Y.; Christine Gianacaci, 22, of Hopewell, N.J.; Patrick Hartwick, 53, dean of the Ross College of Education; and Richard Bruno, 59, assistant professor in the College of Liberal Education.
Eight students made it out safely last week and are back home.
For friends and family members, the wait to hear something has been agonizing.
Yet Ross ended his speech with a message of hope.
“We still believe in miracles,” he said. “And we wish those same miracles upon all of you who are still uncertain at this hour.”
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