(Tuesday August 9, 5:00 pm Kathmandu time)

The avalanche was not probed today as it was unsafe for the Sherpas to access the spot- it had been raining all day and the site was active.

This morning we had the help of a psychic investigator who works with law enforcement in the US to find missing people. She spoke to Daniel with the intention of directing him to Trevor's location, but because of the homogeny of the terrain was unable to pinpoint an exact spot. The investigator indicated that Trevor had fallen into a crevasse, and was therefore not visible from above-by foot or air- which would explain why fifteen days of searching has produced nothing.

According to Andrew, Trevor could not have lived more than a few hours after his fall, which is comforting to us. The three of us have gained tremendous strength from each other through the past two-and-a-half weeks.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We are planning to sit shiva once we return to Dallas and will give one last update with the date of our return and date and time for a remembrance service and tribute to Trevor's life.

Trevor died on top of the world in his mountains with his camera. We are grieving, no doubt, but there is peace that comes from knowing that he was in his element living one of the greatest times of his life.

Arnie, Barbara and Jodi

(08/08/2005 - 1PM Kathmandu time)

Report from Mingma Dorje and Aurelia Mignon at the search site last night was that they'd had a spell of bad weather with low cloud and about 6cm of damp snow falling on the glacier. This made recognition of objects a little more difficult; however, the search team prevailed and continued until late afternoon. Evening rain should quickly melt the snow unless low night temperatures lead to more snow.

The team completed their search of Khumbutse ridge yesterday, as well as the lateral moraine and slopes running from Mt Lingtren to Mt Pumori and all the way to Kala Pattar. They also searched the lower Changri Shar and Changri Nup glaciers to the west of Gorak Shep.

Today, weather depending, they will complete the glacier search from Gorak Shep south to the village of Lobuche, as well as the small glacier opposite Gorak Shep which lies below Mt Nuptse.

Some thermal imaging equipment is expected to arrive tomorrow and an assessment will then be made as to whether or not it can be utilised in these conditions.

Broadcasts on local radio have gone out to villages in the area and tomorrow one team of Sherpas will make the trek over the Cho La (pass) to the Gokyo region, west of the Khumbu glacier, both to look for Trevor and to advise the local people of the situation, on the off chance that Trevor walked that way.

This is the last day of the search........all areas would have been covered by the end of today, most of them at least five times. The fact that Trev has not been found means that he is either in a crevasse or under the avalanche debris. There is a slim chance that he has walked off the mountain, but we have had no response from our televsion, newspaper and radio ads that would have alerted locals to Trevor's disappearance.

About an hour ago Daniel arrived to support Aurelia in the final search: If it is safe for the Sherpas, they will probe the extension of the avalanche tomorrow- that is to say that they will not be probing the main path of the avalanche as new debris- thick chunks of ice- fall in that area constantly. If tomorrow produces no results, we've done everything we can and will return to Dallas sometime over the weekend after Aurelia and Daniel safely make their way back to Kathmandu.

This has been really hard for us, but having each other has helped in being able to come to some acceptance that Trevor won't be coming home.

Arnold, Barbara and Jodi

(08/07/2005 - 11AM Kathmandu time)

The search team reports that yesterday they had very low cloud and
consistent rain over the Khumbu glacier making conditions difficult for the
searchers, however they persisted with their efforts throughout the
day.

Areas searched included the pinnacles, the east side of the Khumbu
glacier to the Nuptse face, the lower (accessible) part of the Khumbu
icefall and the Khumbutse ridge. A number of sherpas entered the icefall
with ropes and technical equipment to search as comprehensively as they
could in the conditions and 2 Sherpas also climbed the Khumbutse ridge
whilst the remainder of the team searched the lower slopes.

Today the team is completing the search of the Khumbutse ridge and will
then concentrate on the slopes below Mt Lingtren to Pumori and then to
Kala Patthar. They report that the weather continues to be very poor
with the onset of the monsoon proper, but are determined to make the
best effort.

A few minutes ago,at 12.30pm we spoke to Mingma and he said it is snowing quite hard and he may have to call the search off early so as not to put anyone in danger. They will cover the areas intended for today in the morning, if need be.

Keep praying.

Arnie, Barbara and Jodi.

(08/06/2005 - 11AM Kathmandu time):

At 6pm last night, Arnie and Andrew spoke with Mingma Dorje and Aurelia at Gorak Shep. Mingma told them that the weather had been poor in the search area with snow fall making the surrounding mountain faces dangerous to approach. The search team therefore decided to search the Khumbu glacier from the last sighting of Trevor back down to the vicinity of Gorak Shep village.

They made a very close search with only a few metres between each searcher, so that area has now been crossed off the map as completed. Today the search team is focusing on the ice pinnacles on the east side of the glacier, the bottom of the Khumbu icefall and around to the Khumbutse ridge.

This morning we had an audience with the Ringpoche Lama at Bhodinath temple in Kathmandu. The Lama advised that the search team should carefully look in the vicinity of the Khumbutse ridge, which they are doing at this moment.

Radio spots have been translated into Nepalese and will be broadcast on two stations in the region that Trevor may have wandered into, should he have become disoriented.

We are hopeful.Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Arnie, Barbara and Jodi.

(08/05/2005):

From Jodi and Barbara:

Yesterday morning (Thursday August 4), Andrew Lock, Daniel Rennert, Aurelia Mignon and lead Sherpa, Mingma Dorje, flew by helicopter to the high mountain village of Lobuche, a short distance from the search area. They took a large quantity of search equipment to support the new search, which is to be conducted by a fresh team of 30 strong Sherpas from nearby villages. These Sherpas are strong, experienced and very keen to do their best to find Trevor.

Andrew and Mingma briefed the team who will be based at the village of Gorak Shep in the heart of the search area and will spend the next week comprehensively searching both the glacier where Trevor was last seen and the surrounding areas as well.

The local media have been briefed and support staff are continuing to post missing person notices from Kathmandu to the base of Everest.

Aurelia elected to join the search team but will remain at Gorak Shep as a point of liaison between the Kathmandu Search and Rescue command centre and the searchers on site. Daniel was flown to the village of Namche Bazaar and over the next few days will trek to basecamp, acclimatizing carefully as he goes but with the intention of providing support to Aurelia when he arrives and posting further missing person notices along the main trekking route.

Returning from the mountains this morning Andrew stated that he was very satisfied with the search team and the plan for the search over the next week. Search areas have been prioritized, support equipment and communications put in place and a comprehensive plan developed. He said that despite the wet conditions from the monsoon, the warmer temperatures at this time of year give good cause to be hopeful.

(08/04/2005):

Once the clouds lifted this morning, a MI 17 helicopter carrying supplies and passengers- including Andrew Lock, the lead Sherpa, and Arnie- flew to Lukla where they dropped Arnie and another gentleman off to relieve some of the weight so that they could fly up to a higher altitude to meet with the Sherpas. Andrew will be conducting a meeting with all the Sherpas to carefully delineate the method for the continuation of the search. After the meeting the helicopter will take the lead Sherpa higher up the mountain, so that the search can resume.

I know that everyone is hoping that we have either sightings of clothing or the dog or some indication of Trevor, but unfortunately we have nothing to report in that regard. When we do, an update will go out immediately, but the details of the search procedure are all we have to hang on to until further notice.

Continue to pray for good weather to bring Arnie and Andrew back to Kathmandu this afternoon and keep up your positive thoughts.
Barbara

(08/03/2005):

Yesterday, Andrew Lock arrived in Kathamdu from Australia and has been working closely with us on the plans for the next week to find Trevor. Andrew is an expert in "Search and Rescue" missions: www.andrew-lock.com. He interviewed all the people who had been with Trevor the few days before he went missing to find out exactly what his intentions were, what he was trying to photograph and where he was hoping to go to in the Base camp area.

Today is a day to get all the needed equipment together: bamboo to probe the avalanche area, a stretcher, splints, ropes, and other necessary items for the rescue. A helicopter will be transporting the equipment and some of the Sherpas up the mountain tomorrow. The plan is that 30 Sherpas will be doing an intensive search over "key" areas that Andrew has identified.

Arnie, Jodi and I have all been identified as possible blood donors and we are ready to give when the time comes.

Posters in both Nepalese and English identifying a missing man with a photograph of Trevor will be posted today around town as well along the hiking trek from Lukla to the top of the mountain and in the small towns in the side valleys in case he has wandered off.

There is still a chance that Trev is "hanging on." Check out the story of James Scott's 41 day survival at a lower altitude, but in winter, which keeps our hopes "up".

Pray and keep us in your thoughts and let us bring him home alive.

(08/02/2005):

The family is together in Kathmandu to coordinate search efforts for Trevor. An exhaustive seven day effort yeilded no significant results but the family remains hopeful for a positive outcome. An accomplished Australian climber will arrive today to manage the second phase of the search effort.