Scary and Amazing Photographs of New Orleans

Check out these before and after photos of New Orleans.

Hat Tip Vodka Pundit

Mountain Brook Grads Now at Vanderbilt Talk Natalee and Hope

In an interview from the Vanderbilt Hustler, two of Natalee’s friends speak out and provide their thoughts, opinions, and hopes regarding Natalee Hollow.

Mountain Brook High School, the school that Holloway attended, sent nine students to Vanderbilt this year, eight of which went on the traditional graduation trip to Aruba. The events that surrounded Holloway’s sudden disappearance from her graduation trip unfolded before the eyes of people everywhere this summer. The continuing investigations into the case brought the tiny island of Aruba, and the small city where Holloway was from, into the spotlight

Natalee’s two friends go on to recounts the events on that evening at Carlos ‘N Charlie’s and the confusion that transpired at the end on the evening.
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“It’s totally wiped out. … It’s devastating, it’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground.”

These were the words said by President George W. Bush as Air Force One flew over parts of the devastated areas of New Orleans and the Mississippi coast line.

“We’re dealing with one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history,” Bush said later in a televised address from the White House, which most victims could not see because power remains out to 1 million Gulf Coast residents. The federal government dispatched helicopters, warships and elite SEAL water-rescue teams in one of the biggest relief operations in U.S. history, aimed at plucking residents from rooftops in the last of the “golden 72 hours” rescuers say is crucial to saving lives.

The words became even more grim as Mayor Ray Nagin speculated that thousands were feared drowned in New Orleans.
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FOUND!!!- Hillel Ben-Avi Missing in the Mummy Range of Colorado

UPDATE : Found Alive!

A hiker missing since Sunday in the rugged Mummy Range was found Wednesday, suffering from dehydration but mostly tired and hungry.

Hillel Ben-Avi of Austin, Texas, was admitted overnight at a hospital in nearby Estes Park for observation, according to a statement from Rocky Mountain National Park.

“This is the happiest day of my life, and I am extremely grateful to the entire search and rescue team,” the hiker’s brother Doran Ben-Avi said in the statement.

Ben-Avi, 45, was spotted in the Hague Creek drainage area of the Mummy Range waving a makeshift flag at a helicopter. He was flown out, transferred to an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

From the AP

Rangers and search-and-rescue teams combed the rugged Mummy Range in the northern part of the park Tuesday for a hiker from Texas who has been missing since Sunday.

Hillel Ben-Avi, 45, of Austin, Texas, was last seen while climbing 13,502-foot Fairchild Mountain, about 60 miles northwest of Denver.

It was the second time in a month that someone has disappeared in the Mummy Range. Park Ranger Jeff Christensen died July 29 from head injuries suffered in a fall while patrolling the area alone.

Ben-Avi was hiking ahead of his brother, who last saw him near the summit. When his brother reached the summit, Ben-Avi was not there, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said.

Two helicopters, two dog teams and about 70 searchers were looking for the missing man Tuesday.

Hillel is a Radiologist out of Austin, Texas according to his biography.

To discuss this go to the Missing Persons Discussion Forum

Tip line will help find missing adults; www.ohiomissingadults.com

A very special thanks should go to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro for the $25,000 grant, Crime Stoppers has created a statewide toll-free tip line and a Web site designed to locate missing adults. The site helps spread the word about people who have disappeared.

Abductions and reports of runaways have regularly been in the news. Many of those end tragically. And although many involve children, there are instances when adults turn up missing.

A prime example is missing 18-year-old Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Sometimes the end result with a missing adult is just as tragic as that of a missing child. Sometimes resolution is never achieved. The person is never found. Dead or alive.
But some good news coming out of Columbus recently should bolster the hopes of any Ohioan missing an adult family member or friend, including those in our own
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