John Doyle's Panamanian Adventure

This page is intended to provide information about the status of John Doyle, who is currently missing in the mountains of Panama.

Current Status (Tuesday 07:30 AM PDT 2007-08-28)

John has been found alive. He has not been extracted yet but it's expected any moment. Here is the update from Hall Daily:

Marie called her Emory colleague Jim Zaidan: 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.

What Happened

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 this morning, but they have not found him yet (its now 5 pm in Panama).

The area is a settled location, which includes quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna.

(Tuesday 2007-08-28) Pablo Parillo found this article in the local Panama news paper in Spanish. Here is a Google translation.

Past Updates (in reverse order, with most recent first)

• 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).

• 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.

• Mon, 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.

• Mon, 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.

• Caltech and Emory are sending down representatives to help Marie. Richard Murray will be going from Caltech.

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.

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

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

Show 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

• "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: http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20070617151703712