Family says Julia Campbell was not as easy target



Soldiers found Campbell's body buried in a shallow grave in a dry river bed in the area of the northern Philippines where she was hiking by herself. Police said they believed foul play was involved. Campbell's family has said the daughter of a former U.S. Marine captain was an "alert and careful traveler" who would not easily be duped by people with "malevolent intent." "She knows how to look out for herself. Julia Campbell is not an easy target," the family said in a profile they put together during the 10-day search for her.

Family says Julia Campbell was not as easy target

Body of missing Peace Corps worker found

By OLIVER TEVES Associated Press Writer

© 2007 The Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — The last entry in Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell's Internet blog said she was "buhay pa," a Filipino phrase for "still alive."

The Jan. 13 posting, which detailed her experiences surviving a typhoon, explained that she had adopted the phrase soon after arriving in the country two years ago, calling it the most familiar response when Filipinos are asked how they are doing.

Family and friends were hoping for a similar message from her after she disappeared April 8 while on a trip to see the famed mountainside rice terraces of Banaue, in a remote part of Ifugao province.

But on Wednesday, soldiers found Campbell's body buried in a shallow grave in a dry river bed in the area of the northern Philippines where she was hiking by herself. Police said they believed foul play was involved.

Campbell's family has said the daughter of a former U.S. Marine captain was an "alert and careful traveler" who would not easily be duped by people with "malevolent intent."

"She knows how to look out for herself. Julia Campbell is not an easy target," the family said in a profile they put together during the 10-day search for her.

Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir, Ifugao's provincial police chief, told The Associated Press by telephone that a stray dog had dug out one of Campbell's feet by the time soldiers discovered the body, which was covered with dirt in the creek.

A pair of reading glasses and a sandal were found nearby, he said.

Ganir said Campbell was last seen buying a soda at a store in the town of Batad. She had bought a bus ticket to return to Manila by April 9, indicating she did not plan to extend her stay or embark on a long hike, he said.

A former long-distance runner from Fairfax, Va., Campbell, 40, had worked as freelance journalist for The New York Times, Fox.com, CourtTV.com, People magazine and Star magazine. In December, she contributed a story for CNN after supertyphoon Durian devastated the Philippines' Albay province, where she worked as an English teacher.

Her family said she was a certified yoga instructor who loved to sample different cultures, citing her extensive travels throughout Europe, Morocco, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. They also described her as a caring person who would give away her last cent to anyone in need, working as Red Cross volunteer after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"These qualities and the many others she embodies led her to embrace her most recent career choice to join the Peace Corps," her family said.

In a May 27, 2005, blog entry — two weeks before she was officially sworn in as a volunteer — Campbell anticipated the "beginning of my journey here," where she would "no longer have the comfort of fellow Americans within reach."

Last October, she began teaching English at the Divine World College in Legazpi city in Albay province, southeast of Manila, and had about two weeks left in the term. Her immediate superior, Assistant Dean Nora Gallano of the school's College of Liberal Arts, called her a kind, generous, friendly person who was dedicated to her work.

Campbell earlier worked at Donsol High School in nearby Sorosogon province, where she helped restock its library by mobilizing friends and relatives in a campaign she called "A Book and A Buck."

She also helped launch an ecology awareness campaign and build an Eco Center in Donsol, which has been attracting tourists to watch the whale sharks that visit the fishing town every December-June.

Last November, she weathered supertyphoon Durian, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in recent years. It killed more than 1,000 people as it slammed into Legazpi and sent tons of debris cascading down the slopes of the Mayon volcano.

"For a few minutes there, as the flood waters rushed inside my little apartment on Marquez Street, I wondered, 'Is this the way it's going to be?' I'll drown right here inside my tiny apartment far away from my family and friends?" she wrote in her blog.

Afterward, Campbell and other Peace Corps volunteers helped rebuild Padang village, which was wiped out. They became "celebrities to the hundreds of kids there," she said.

In December, she helped organize Christmas gifts for the children, giving away flip-flops, T-shirts, toys and some household gifts that friends and family donated.

"We all had a lot of fun and it was good to see the kids laugh again," she said.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: April, 2007; Peace Corps Philippines; Directory of Philippines RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Philippines RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Journalism; Crime

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