John Doyle's Panamanian Adventure

This page is intended to provide information about the status of John Doyle, who went missing in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26) approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT).

Current Status (Wednesday 29 Aug, 13:00 PDT)

(Richard) Just got back from the hospital and talking with John. He sounds just like his usual self and had a good lunch. He's still in intensive care (just to be safe, I think), but will probably be moved to a regular room tomorrow. He has pretty big cuts on his arm, the back of his head and his back, but looks and sounds great.

Mountain in El Valle that John was climbing on. At the time of this photo, John is on the back side of the hill. The helicopter is on its way up to take a look at the location. Photo taken ~1300 local time, 28 Aug 07.

A few corrections to the second hand story given earlier:

• John got to the top of the trail (a point where you can see both oceans on a clear day) around 4 pm. He had read that there was a loop trail and the path seemed wider at the top than the bottom, so he thought there might be a different way down. At some point he cut his had (possibly on a bush) and it was bleeding quite badly, so he decide he should head back down straight away. At this point (maybe 4:30?) he fell down a rocky hill and bounced several times on the way down. He thinks it was maybe 30 meters? He felt blood on his head and his hand was still bleeding, plus at this point his right leg was injured (probably a very bad sprain, but we don't know yet)
• It's not clear that John ever heard the people calling out to him on Monday, although he was calling out.

We don't know yet how long John will have to stay in the hospital. I don't think he is yet able to receive calls, but will check on this.

What Happened

Marie and John in 2004

John and Marie were on vacation in El Valle, Panama. John went for a run on a trail yesterday (Sun) at 3 pm and was supposed to be back by 5 pm. When he wasn't back by 7 pm, they knew something was wrong and they started looking for him shortly after that. They searched until 1 am, but had to call off the search due to rain and clouds (plus darkness). They began the search again Monday morning and continued all day Monday. Initial contact is believed to have been made Monday, and he was located approximately (via shouting) by search teams on Tuesday morning. A quite massive effort was mounted to pinpoint his location on Tuesday, with many people, dogs, helicopter, the works. As of Tuesday evening, he was located, extracted, and finally transported to a hospital in Panama City. As of 21:45 PDT Tuesday the 28th, we do not know the extent of his injuries, but are hopeful they are not severe.

The area is a settled location, which includes quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna. Here is a virtual tour of the region with pictures, courtesy of another hotel in the region.

Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first)

• Wednesday, 7:30 PDT (Richard): They did a thorough examination of John last night and it appears that he fared amazingly well, given the circumstances. He has one small fracture in his back (in a pretty good place, according to Marie) and no other broken bones. He has some wounds that got infected while he was in the mountains, but these have now been cleaned up. It appears that he lost quite a bit of blood while he was in the mountains, so it was very good that he was recovered when he was. Between the environment, his infections, the loss of blood and the lack of food, he might not have lasted another day.

From [1], 2007-08-28

According to Marie, John says that he fell on the trail quite early in his run (perhaps within the first hour). He then tried to make his way back, but fell again and hurt himself much more seriously. He started calling out at that point and trying to move around on one leg to a place where people could see him better. He drank from streams, but had nothing to eat. On Monday, after spending the night on the moutain, he heard the shouts from rescue teams and shouted back. However, the rescue teams were not able to locate John (it was foggy and raining) and they were not positive they had heard a human voice. He continued to try to move around to areas were he could be seen better. On Tuesday morning, the search teams headed back to the area where they thought they had heard something and made contact with John. He was in a very inaccessible place and it took several hours for the teams to find a way to reach him. Once they found him (perhaps around noon local time), it was extremely difficult to get him off of the mountainside and onto trails where they could bring him back. He finally got to where the ambulance was waiting for him around 7 pm local time.

The local community in El Valle and the Panamanian rescue organizations were amazing in their support for John and helping in the search. People from all over the community joined search teams and risked their own lives to help find John. One of the members of group that extracted John said it was the most difficult rescue he could remember in his 15 years of experience. Without the extraordinary help from the town and the rescuers, John would not be back with us.

• Tuesday, 21:15 PDT (Richard Murray) John has been checked in to the Punta Pacifica hospital, after being first checked out at a clinic in El Valle and then driven by ambulance to Panama City (about 100 kilometers). Marie is with him and John is in good spirits (but hungry). Not clear yet whether he has any broken bones (may just be torn ligaments); he is able to move his arms and right leg, although with limited motion due to lots of pulled muscles.

• Tuesday, 17:00 PDT (Mike Hucka) Just received email from Richard: John is out and down the hill with the rescuers. Richard's short note mentioned John being in an ambulance, but I am unclear about whether he is being taken by ambulance to the hospital, or by helicopter (previously there was talk about using a helicopter). More news as we learn it. In any case, it seems clear he is (or will shortly be) on his way to the hospital in Panama City.

• Tuesday 15:30 PDT (Richard Murray) John is currently headed down the hill in a stretcher. It is taking a lot of time because it is rough terrain and they need to go slow. Marie has talked to John on a cell phone and he sounds OK, given the circumstances. He should be down the mountain in another hour, at which point he and Marie will be taken by helicopter to a hospital (Puente Pacifico?) in Panama City (30 minute flight). Other details:
  • According to some of the rescue team that we talked to, John was not actually up in a tree. Might have been what it looked like from the vantage point of the helicopter.
  • Marie asked John if he could move his arms and legs and he said yes. He didn't think his leg was broken, but the rescue team is pretty sure.
  • The people here in Panama have been absolutely fantastic. They are doing so much to help bring all of this to a speed resolution. It is really wonderful and hard to describe how much everyone is pitching in.

• Tuesday 12:20 PDT update from our contacts at Emory:

"The helicopter flew over and spotted John -- in a tree! The crew wanted to see whether there might be an easier way to reach him -- and the result is that the ground searchers are climbing down to make a clearing nearby to make a helicopter landing possible. Marie said Panama emptied the zoo of most of the zoo workers to turn out more people to help in this search and the ground work that has to be done. Once rescued, he will be flown to Panama City.

She was standing with a Navy nurse who had a big chest full of medical supplies ready. The helicopter is back at the hotel at the moment (crew getting fed) while they wait for the landing to be cleared. Marie is concerned that the fog is beginning to creep back -- but she is so relieved and thanked everyone for all that has been done. She said that once she realized John will be rescued, she realized how exhausted she is. One cannot imagine."

• Tuesday, 10:20 am (Mike Hucka): A Panamanian (Navy?) helicopter has arrived on the scene. Marie is on her way to the accident site now.

• Tuesday, 9:40 am (Mike Hucka): according to an email directly from Marie, they've located John in a steep ravine that is making difficult an extraction by hand. They are trying to get helicopter help. Here is what Marie wrote (sent 9:20):

I know everyone is anxious for John, and I can feel that. He has at least a broken leg and ribs, but the rescuers cannot see him yet. There are two teams trying from two sides of the crevice, but they are estimating it will take all day to get him moved out, and the helicopters which would help, are stuck in an embassy bureaucracy. Since John is talking I am optimistic that this will ultimately be a good story. But there are dangers in moving people and the move will not be trivial in terms of his stabilization. Thanks...keep rooting for us from afar. Richard should be here in about an hour.

• Tuesday, 7:30 am: (Hall Daily): Marie reports that John has been found alive and that they are trying to extract him by helicopter. John's condition is still unknown (to us here).

"Marie called an Emory colleague: JOHN HAS BEEN FOUND!!!! The search parties, searching and calling back and forth, are getting responses from him and are drawing close to pinpointing his exact location. At the moment they have not precisely found him but most likely will at any moment. Marie is rushing to a small clinic there to try to be sure he gets first aid when he is brought in. She can certainly start a line if he needs IV fluids, etc. It's not clear yet whether he needs more than first aid."

• Monday, 8:20 pm (Hall Daily): from one of Marie's colleagues at Emory:

"I have just spoken with Marie. A pharmacist has given her some medication to help her sleep, but she sounded better. She reported some heartening information. First, this is a cloud forest, not a rain/jungle forest, and the snakes and other bad critters are much more benign. She said the word is out among the inhabitants of this town about John’s disappearance, and some locals have come forward wanting to help. One is a highly trained naturalist in the area (American), who was in the search party that communicated with John (shouting in the distance?) earlier today. Because of what John said in this shouting with the searchers, Marie believes it was he. The area where he went to run is very mountainous. They seem to believe John fell off a very steep drop, and is now difficult to reach by foot. This naturalist knows the area extremely well and said there are steep drops and deep places -- he thought a helicopter would be helpful both in spotting John and in helping to get him out – otherwise difficult. They have told Marie that he is not likely to get hypothermic. Another local (part of the national search team, I think she said) is connected with the Red Cross there, and the Red Cross is supplying dogs to search – on their way to the town now, Marie thinks. She has been told that helicopters will be up early tomorrow. She said John went to run and was not carrying his cell phone or even his water bottle.
"Marie is appreciative of everything that is being done to help.

• Monday, 7 pm (Richard): I talked to Marie at 7 pm PDT (9 pm Panama time). They have called off the search for the night, but some of the local Indians are apparently continuing to look. I will be flying down to Panama tomorrow to represent Caltech and help out in whatever way I can.

• Monday, 6 pm (Hall Daily): Sen. Chambliss' staff talked to Mike Hammett, American Citizen's Services Chief a moment ago. The rule is that they normally wait 24 hours to search and 72 to do a massive search but they have moved that up and a massive search is underway. They contacted the Defense Corp and they agreed to send up helicopters however, they only have about an hour of daylight left. They will resume the search effort in the morning. The hotel that Dr. Csete is staying at agreed to put the pilots up free of charge. Mr. Hammett said there are many different groups conducting a foot search.

• Monday, 4:00 pm (from Hall Daily): The fog reportedly rolled back into the area before helicopter(s) could be deployed today. If weather permits, they'll try again in the morning. An additional search party, however, was sent into the area within the last hour or so.

• Monday, 3:30 pm: Richard talked to Marie at ~3:00 pm (5:00 pm in Panama). They have not found John yet and the fog is starting to come back in, so the search crews will have to return home. There is a Panamanian Navy helicopter that is scheduled to help, but can't come in because of weather. There are apparently also US Navy helicopters a few hours away (according to Marie) and they should be able to join the search as soon as the weather permits (might be tomorrow at this point). Marie's brother will fly out Tue or Wed (not sure which) to join her.

• Monday, 2 pm: John and Marie are in Panama on vacation and John is missing in the mountains. He went for a run on a trail yesterday (Sun) at 3 pm and was supposed to be back by 5 pm. When he wasn't back by 7 pm, they knew something was wrong and they started looking for him shortly after that. They searched until 1 am, but had to call off the search due to rain and clouds (plus darkness). They began search again this morning, but they have not found him yet.

Other actions that have been taken:

• Caltech has contacted Congressman Schiff's office, who immediately contacted the US Embassy in Panama. They have assured us that all available resources will be made used to find John.

• Jean-Lou Chameau, Ed Stolper, Dave Rutledge, Dean Curry, Hall Daily (Government Relations) and others at Caltech have been informed of the situation and are working to insure that all available resources are available to help find John.

Newspaper stories and other reports

Pablo Parillo found the following articles about the event:

• In the Panama newspaper on Tuesday morning: original version in Spanish, and Google translation into English. (Found 2007-08-28 by Pablo Parillo)

• Article in Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday (Found 2007-08-28 by Pablo Parillo)
  • The end of this article is inaccurate. The rescue was not done by helicopter (it could not get close due to the possibility of the rotor wash knocking down branches onto John). John was taken to Panama City by ambulance, leaving El Valle around 8 pm and arriving at the hospital around 10 pm (local time).

• Panama newspaper update: original version in Spanish and Google translation into English. (Found 2007-08-29 by Mike)

• "Turista gringo desaparece en El Valle" short news story in the original Spanish and Google translation into English. (Found 2007-08-29 by Mike)

Information about the region

Panama's time zone is UTC-5, which is 2 hours ahead of California/PDT and the same as the US central time zone.

Los Mandarinos hotel

Link to regional map of Panama. John and Marie are in the Coclé region.

Link to virtual tour of El Valle de Anton put together by another hotel there.

Los Mandarinos Boutique-Spa & Hotel is the hotel where they are staying. It's roughly 100 km from Panama City. Here are the GPS coordinates for the town, according to Carlos M. Celis from the Los Mandarinos:

latitude 8 deg 35 min - 8 deg 37 min north
longitude 80 deg 09 min - 80 deg 06 min south

Location on map: in Google in Mapquest

General region descriptions taken from different places:

• "El Valle De Anton is one of the most sought after locations for Expats relocating to Panama. The year-round average high temperature is 20° C (68° F), and the average nighttime minimum is a comfortable 16° C (61° F), there is little variation between summer and winter temperatures, the major difference being the amount of wind and rain from season to season. At an altitude of 2200 meters (7217.85 ft) El Valle is nestled in the long extinct second largest volcanic crater in the world (three by five mile crater). When you begin your descend into the crater from the rim you will notice that it is indeed situated in a round bowl of jagged mountain peaks. You will also notice an overall green appearance to the area due to the richness of the volcanic soil lending itself to the abundance of flowers that bloom there year round. It is very refreshing in contrast to Panama City where the building and houses fill the lots from corner to corner barely allowing sunlight to pass between them. El Valle is spread out with large lots; an abundance of trees and grass separating the well maintained houses. Many of homes are owned by local residents whose names could make up a Who's Who of Panama book." Source

El Valle de Anton

• "In the province of Cocle. According to geologists, El Valle is the crater of a dormant volcano, probably the largest in Central America. With a cool and pleasant climate, his picturesque valley rises 600 meters above sea level. This small town has a great variety of attractions such as Indian petroglyphs, hot springs, waterfalls, rock climbing and a variety of hikes for all abilities." Source

• More descriptions of the region and more pictures available here and here