St. Maarten Private Eye

It has been almost a year since Georgia and I dropped Joel off at the Trenton train station to go on his holiday trip to Saba. I was suprised at how little he was taking, but he said it was an island vacation, less than a week. He was so used to traveling around the world for three weeks at a time - he didn't need much. I asked if he would rent a car and he responded "Saba is the kind of island where it is not necessary to rent a vehicle - if you need a ride, the island people would be more than happy to give you one." He hugged Georgia, and that was the last we saw of him.

He didn't show up on the 30th. I hoped he had missed the plane like he had in Turkey two years before. He didn't show up on the 31st....I called his neighbor. Two hours later, the neighbor showed up at my house.....the police had come to look for a missing person.....our nightmare began.

So it was that three women that cared very much about Joel flew to Saba on New Year's Day to search for him. Only to be brought into a room at the airport to be (essentially) interrogated about Joel. The drugs, the alcohol.....it was one butt of a marijuana cigarette and a bottle of vodka that was nearly full. He was not a drug or alcohol abuser. He was on vacation. Over the next three days, we were brought back to the police station to be questioned again and again. About his habits (yes including his sexual habits). He was made out to be crazy and someone who would commit suicide. He was not that type of person. He was not going to leave his child. He had plans for the future. The police were reacting to "another Natalie Halloway". This was not the same.

He got lost in the mine. Do I blame anyone for that? No! It is a tragedy. Did I believe that the mine had been totally explored by the firemen? That is what I was lead to believe. So we didn't look further. Mike from Brigadoon suggested we look in the mine again. It was not an easy task. It needed experts or........... a few lost hikers. Just like Joel. I do not blame anyone who tried to find Joel. I bless everyone of you who searched and who supported the search. We did the best we could.

I want to say thank you to all of the volunteers who spent so much time looking for Joel. I think we are all frustrated that the mystery might have been ended in December or January. But it is no one's fault. We all tried our best to find him. I commend everyone on the island of Saba for their grit and determination. No one ever blamed the people of Saba for Joel's disappearance. It is a beautiful island with wonderful people.

As my daughter said..."if dad died doing what he enjoyed (hiking, reading, meeting locals) then he died happy." From a 15 year old (who just turned 16) that is an amazing thought.

From Rascal Flatts: "he was running when the sands of time ran out"

Thank you all. Especially moongirl.