This communique was sent today and passed on via e-mail by UW/CC prof and WAC board chair Bruce Richardson:
Dear Colleagues and Students,
Beth Loffreda and I write to inform you of a developing situation with our friend and colleague Craig Arnold. Craig is currently missing in Japan and an intensive search for him is underway.
Craig is in Japan this spring to visit volcanoes as part of his research for his book on volcanoes. On Monday, Craig arrived on the island of Kuchino-erabu for what was to have been a 24-hour visit to the local volcano. He left his inn in the mid-afternoon, walked to the next village, and got a ride to the entrance to the path leading up the mountain to the volcano. He has not been seen since.
The inn-keeper alerted the Japanese authorities who have been searching for Craig with police, dogs, and a helicopter. They found Craig's footprints at the entrance to the path up the mountain but have found no other sign of him. Forty searchers are currently working on this case. The mountain is heavily wooded; the thought is that Craig may be lost.
Japanese authorities are required by law to search for three days and are now just beginning the third day of the search. Craig's family will seek to have the search extended if necessary and the University of Wyoming is lending its support to this effort. Tom Buchanan has contacted Wyoming's congressional delegation. Senators Enzi and Barrasso are already working on Craig's case with the local consulate in Japan.
We wanted to inform you of this situation partly because the media will soon be alerted. We anticipate that when the story breaks, it may garner intense attention.
We are hoping for a good outcome to this situation and we will keep you updated. In the meantime, let's all keep Craig and his family in our thoughts and prayers.
Peter Parolin and Beth Loffreda
To read updates on the situation, go to this Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1700779545#/group.php?gid=74254019683&ref=mf
or this blog: http://findcraigarnold.blogspot.com/.
Read AP story in Denver Post by Cheyenne-based reporter Mead Gruver at http://tinyurl.com/dbppwt
