PCOL Exclusive: How the Peace Corps responded in the cases of missing volunteers in 2001 and in 2007

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Philippines: Peace Corps Philippines: Peace Corps Philippines: Newest Stories: 2007.04.14: April 14, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Chicago Tribune: Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell Missing in Philippines : 2007.05.02: May 2, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Crime: Murder: Journalism: Speaking Out: PCOL Exclusive: Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter flew to Manila to support the search for missing PCV : PCOL Exclusive: How the Peace Corps responded in the cases of missing volunteers in 2001 and in 2007

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-141-157-43-13.balt.east.verizon.net - 141.157.43.13) on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 11:57 pm: Edit Post

How the Peace Corps responded in the cases of missing volunteers in 2001 and in 2007

How the Peace Corps responded in the cases of missing volunteers in 2001 and in 2007

In 2001, Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III went missing in Bolivia. In 2007, Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell went missing in the Philippines. Read about these two cases and how they were handled by the Peace Corps.

How the Peace Corps responded in the cases of missing volunteers in 2001 and in 2007





Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III: Missing in Bolivia in 2001

Peace Corps Online

In 2001, a General Accounting Office investigation, done at the request of Rep. Martin T. Meehan, Massachusetts Democrat, found the Peace Corps at fault, saying it had failed "to properly supervise Mr. Poirier and lost track of him." In 2002, a GAO study concluded that major physical assaults on the 7,533 Peace Corps volunteers had more than doubled in the preceding decade and that organizational problems likely had worsened the problem. "This investigation has been mishandled since the beginning," Mr. Meehan said. "While the Peace Corps may have instituted changes, they have been too little too late as far as Walter Poirier and his family" are concerned.

On February 28, 2001, Sheila Poirier sat down at her computer and sent an email to her son, Walter Poirier III who was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia and who she had not heard from since January 29.

"Dear Walter, Are you okay? I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking of calling at least the house in La Paz. It is my assumption that you are at your site — possibly stranded because of road conditions. My worst fear is that you may be ill with some tropical disease. I know that with the lapse in time from your previous communication, this isn't a simple case of too busy to write. If we don't hear from you, I will call the house in La Paz this weekend."

On Sunday, March 4, Sheila picked up the phone. She had heard about some flooding in Bolivia, so she called the group house in the capital city of La Paz where Walter occasionally stayed. The volunteers called it the "crash pad." "I'm trying to reach Walter Poirier," Sheila told the volunteer who answered. "We haven't seen him for a couple weeks."

Sheila scribbled down the number of a Peace Corps 24-hour line. Bolivia is a huge country, the size of California and Texas combined, but, surely, she thought, if Walter were in trouble, someone would have contacted her. She reached an officer, who told her to sit tight.

On March 5, the U.S. Embassy was notified that Mr. Poirier was missing, and it immediately initiated and coordinated a search and investigation in an attempt to locate Mr. Poirier. The coordinated effort used available U.S. Embassy and Peace Corps personnel and various elements of the Bolivian government.

On March 6, Mary Gutman called Sheila Poirier from Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, DC. We're looking for him," Gutman said.

After being told about Mr. Poirier’s disappearance on March 5, 2001, the Peace Corps’ OIG sent an investigator to La Paz on March 16. The investigator searched for Mr. Poirier until March 31.

On April 19, 2001, the FBI became involved after you, Senator Edward Kennedy, and Senator John Kerry asked for FBI involvement in an April 12, 2001, letter to Attorney General Ashcroft. The OIG investigator returned to La Paz on April 20 and stayed until May 3.

The FBI’s investigation took approximately 2 weeks and included polygraphing several suspects developed by the Bolivian National Police, and following leads that often led to remote parts of the Bolivian countryside. The Bolivian National Police, which searched morgues, hospitals, prisons, hotels, and hostels in and around La Paz and throughout Bolivia, are still searching for Mr. Poirier. A Bolivian fire/rescue team conducted extensive searches in waterways and the Zongo Valley jungle.

Peace Corps Online

Caption: The Mountains near Zongo Pass in Bolivia where some believe the body of Walter Poirier may be buried.

The U.S. Embassy and the Peace Corps broadcast information about Mr. Poirier’s disappearance throughout Bolivia in the print media, newspapers, tabloids, television, and radio announcing that a substantial reward is available. In addition, thousands of posters about Mr. Poirier’s disappearance have been distributed throughout Bolivia.

Now, six years later, officials can only presume Mr. Poirier is dead. But his family and others familiar with the case say they think the U.S. Embassy, the Peace Corps and Bolivian officials botched the investigation.

Mr. Poirier's parents, Walter Sr. and Mrs. Poirier, say that most recently, the U.S. Embassy halfheartedly followed up a lead from authorities in August in which a Bolivian kidnapping victim claimed to have overheard what had happened to their son's body.

"This is the best lead to have surfaced since the disappearance of our son," the Poiriers said in an e-mail from Lowell, Mass., the hometown of the missing volunteer. The Massachusetts congressional delegation also has been critical of the investigation.

In 2001, a General Accounting Office investigation, done at the request of Rep. Martin T. Meehan, Massachusetts Democrat, found the Peace Corps at fault, saying it had failed "to properly supervise Mr. Poirier and lost track of him."

In 2002, a GAO study concluded that major physical assaults on the 7,533 Peace Corps volunteers had more than doubled in the preceding decade and that organizational problems likely had worsened the problem.

"This investigation has been mishandled since the beginning," Mr. Meehan said. "While the Peace Corps may have instituted changes, they have been too little too late as far as Walter Poirier and his family" are concerned.




Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell: Missing in the Philippines 2007

Peace Corps Online

Tschetter arrived in the Philippines on April 16 to consult with Philippine officials regarding the ongoing search for a missing U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. Tschetter traveled to the Banaue area with U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Paul W. Jones on Tuesday, April 17 to meet with American and Filipino authorities involved in the search. While he was there, he had an opportunity to view the terrain by helicopter. Tschetter was back in Manila on April 18 meeting with Peace Corps Volunteers and in the process of telling them the results of his visit when the Embassy Representative received a phone call and it was at that moment that he told volunteers the news that Julia's body had been found. On April 18, Tschetter met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to thank her for the partnership and efforts of the Filipino people in searching for Ms. Campbell.

On April 8, 2007 Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell was seen arriving on April 8 by motorcycle taxi at a Banaue road junction leading to nearby Batad village in the Philippines, from where she had planned to hike to a spot to view the rice terraces.

Peace Corps started looking for Campbell after she missed appointments on April 11.

On April 12, local police started checking the guest registries in hotels and inns in the Batad area for Campbell's name. Authorities also left Campbell's photos to be displayed in hotel lobbies, shops and market stalls in the town.

On April 14, the US Embassy officially released information on Campbell's disappearance. The U.S. embassy declared the volunteer missing since April 8 and announced it was giving a reward for information on the welfare and whereabouts of the 40-year old woman. The embassy asked those who have seen Campbell anytime after April 8, or who may have information on her movements or current location, to contact John Borja, Safety and Security Officer of the Peace Corps­Philippines,through mobile phone number 0920-900-5270, or contact the U.S. Embassy in Manila at (02)-528-6300.

In Batad, Regional police commander Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales said at least four teams from the provincial police office have been mobilized for the search, after the U.S. Embassy told them Campbell was missing. He said the directive to conduct the search came from the national police headquarters in Manila. Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang said members of an army company in Banaue also joined the search Saturday, after receiving an order from the military's Northern Luzon Command. A military helicopter will help with the search, he said. "We were unaware of the incident. We learned only today that someone has been missing," he said.

Peace Corps Online

Caption: Batad Village, one of the best-preserved rice terraces in Cordilleras Philippine near where Julia Campbell was last seen alive.

Philippines Peace Corps Country Director Karl Beck sent a memo to all Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines on April 14 with information on the search efforts and announcing "The Volunteers in the Legazpi area had organized an opportunity to get together this weekend, offer their support to each other, and share information. If other Volunteers feel it would help to organize similar meetings, to call the PCMO, or to come to Manila to get counseling help to process their feelings about this distressful situation, they are invited to please do so. Please just call ahead to talk with Eloi or Annabelle so they can include you on their schedules. "

On April 15, Karl Beck sent another message to all Peace Corps Philippines Volunteers announcing that "Peace Corps Director Ronald Tschetter has been following very closely the search efforts to find Julia Campbell. Mr. Tschetter is deeply concerned to make available all possible support for the search and to express his solidarity directly to PC Philippines Volunteers and staff. He will come to the Philippines this week to gain first hand information and to meet with Volunteers, PC staff, Embassy officials, and the Philippine Government leaders who are helping us."

Tschetter arrived in the Philippines on April 16 to consult with Philippine officials regarding the ongoing search for a missing U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer.

Tschetter traveled to the Banaue area with U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Paul W. Jones on Tuesday, April 17 to meet with American and Filipino authorities involved in the search. While he was there, he had an opportunity to view the terrain by helicopter.

Tschetter was back in Manila on April 18 meeting with Peace Corps Volunteers and in the process of telling them the results of his visit when the Embassy Representative received a phone call and it was at that moment that he told volunteers the news that Julia's body had been found.

On April 18, Tschetter met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to thank her for the partnership and efforts of the Filipino people in searching for Ms. Campbell.




Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll comments on the differences in the two investigations

Peace Corps Online

Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll writes on April 17: "What a tremendous response from Peace Corps to this very serious situation. Ron Tschetter is a RPCV and the second of only two RPCVs who have been appointed to head the agency. I think this makes all the difference. He travels to the Philippines and is personally and publicly involved. His concern is evident. This is such a contrast to the indifferent response shown by Peace Corps/Wash when Walter Poirier III was found to be missing in Bolivia. That tragedy focused attention on the inadequate protection afforded Peace Corps Volunteers by the agency which was founded to support them. I would hope that the changes in safety and security made by former agency head, Gaddi Vasquez, as a result, will also play an important part in bringing this search to a successful and happy conclusion. My thoughts are with Julia Campbell's family, her friends both in the United States and the Philippines and the serving Peace Corps Volunteers in that country."

What a tremendous response from Peace Corps to this very serious situation. Ron Tschetter is a RPCV and the second of only two RPCVs who have been appointed to head the agency. I think this makes all the difference. He travels to the Philippines and is personally and publicly involved. His concern is evident.

This is such a contrast to the indifferent response shown by Peace Corps/Wash when Walter Poirier III was found to be missing in Bolivia. That tragedy focused attention on the inadequate protection afforded Peace Corps Volunteers by the agency which was founded to support them. I would hope that the changes in safety and security made by former agency head, Gaddi Vasquez, as a result, will also play an important part in bringing this search to a successful and happy conclusion.

My thoughts are with Julia Campbell's family, her friends both in the United States and the Philippines and the serving Peace Corps Volunteers in that country.

[About the Writer: Joanne Roll served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia in the 1960's and is the author of Remember with Honor and Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger and has been a frequent contributor to "Peace Corps Online."]




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: May, 2007; Peace Corps Philippines; Directory of Philippines RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Philippines RPCVs; Peace Corps Bolivia; Directory of Bolivia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Bolivia RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers





When this story was posted in May 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:


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Story Source: PCOL Exclusive

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Philippines; COS - Bolivia; Safety

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By Vicente Daily Vose (gateway-vgray.dsl.ma.np1.net - 64.61.48.206) on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 10:37 am: Edit Post

Congratulations to the Peace Corps/Wash on its reaction to the disappearance of Julia Campbell.
Requiescat in pace.
Perhaps Mr. Teschetter might want to fly to Bolivia and invite the President Evo Morales to take up again the investigation of Walter Poirier III's disappearance?
So many lacunae...so little consideration of the grieving Poirier family....
Still praying...

By Vicente Daily Vose (gateway-vgray.dsl.ma.np1.net - 64.61.48.206) on Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 8:41 pm: Edit Post

What is the current status of the Walter J. Poirier III case? Is it still "active?"
Ojala! Que Dios nos ayude!


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