Family waits for N.J. woman stranded by Nepal quake
BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Denise Reed sat at the dining room table of her house Saturday night, surrounded by her two younger daughters and extended family, but she was fixated on the phone laying on the kitchen counter. Its silence weighed on her mind.
News reports flooded the airwaves about the earthquake in Nepal. The death toll climbed by the hundreds, and eventually by the thousands.
Reed hadn't heard from her eldest daughter, 34-year-old Vanessa Reed. She had landed in Nepal that morning to meet her boyfriend, South Jersey resident Ron Casalnova, for a two-week vacation. No word from her since.
And then, Reed got up to check her phone.
An unread text message showed up: "Ron and I are safe on the Everest Base Camp trail. A lot of damage around us. All electricity is out and we have no internet ..."
"I saw her name, and I'm looking at it. It kind of took a minute to register that this is from her," the mother of three recalled. "We all just burst into tears crying."
What began as an adventure for the New Jersey couple turned into a nightmare, as they struggled through the aftershocks and cold, heavy rain. Reed and Casalnova are among the 8 million people affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
The death toll rose to 4,680, according to police inspector Sharad Thapa of the Nepal Police Control Room in Kathmandu, the capital. Another 61 were killed in neighboring India, and China's official Xinhua News Agency reported 25 dead in Tibet.
At least 18 of the dead were killed at Mount Everest as an avalanche resulting from the earthquake buried part of the base camp, not far from where Reed and Casalnova were. Thousands are injured, and tens of thousands more are homeless.
Vanessa Reed has always been the most adventurous daughter, her mother said. She has gone surfing in Hawaii and touring Europe. A two-week trip to Nepal was just another feat she and her boyfriend could cross off their bucket list.
Vanessa Reed landed in Kathmandu that morning and met up with Casalnova, who suggested flying over to the northeastern town of Lulka to hike on the mountain trails.
A recent Instagram post from Casalnova, provided by Denise Reed, says they were trekking in Sagarmantha National Park in Namche when the earthquake hit.
The photograph captured a crowd of people with colorful tents in the Himalayas. The caption beneath said, "have been passing villages searching for power or Internet since. Finally found a signal for the moment in Namche Bazar (between Lulka and Everest). ..."
The first text message brought Denise Reed immense relief. Her daughters have used the mobile messaging app WhatsApp to keep in contact in the days since. But she has grown worried about the food and water supplies on the trail.
"I'm just trying to get her back home safely because it sounds like they're getting (exhausted) ... at this point (I am) just trying to figure out what to do and offer some help," Denise Reed said.
Non-governmental organizations such as Mercy Corps are distributing relief kits to areas in and around Kathmandu, including toothpaste, clothing and cooking utensils. The group aims to reach areas outside of the capital tomorrow, but noted that the rain has stymied their efforts.
"Heavy vehicles and helicopters are busy with search and rescue, and right now are not available for aid delivery to remote villages. We have been hearing that some hill villages, including ones that rely on wells for water, have been destroyed."
She said she called the embassy in Nepal Tuesday morning and asked about rescue efforts near Namche. She said the embassy official warned her that helicopters were not passing near Namche because of the heavy rain, flood warnings and landslides. Vanessa Reed and Casalnova would have to return to Lulka, more than 8 miles away, if they wanted to be rescued.
It's hard to say whether NGOS such as Mercy Corps would make it out as far as Namche, or what assistance people on the trail were receiving now, if any. Denise Reed said she has not gotten a chance to ask her daughter, but she knows it is limited.
Her biggest priority is making sure she makes it home. Denise Reed continues to search for a way to get her daughter home, from across the world.
"They're kind of stranded," she said. "They need assistance to get to the airport."
Contributing: The Associated Press