claudia kirschhoch disappearance

THE
vAfflsH*tilTo
TI{IN AIR?
VESTIGATES
r THls time ofthe year thc Lfcathraking Scvcn Mile Beech ncrr Ncgril
o n - l a m a i c a t s o u t h - w c s tc d g c r v i l l b c
fillcd l ith winter-flccing toufists
soaking up thc sun. But thc Lcxch toivn's
f a m o u s g o l d c n s i r r r < lasr c r t t h c c c n t r e o f n
strange nrvstcty rvhich hangs trvcr thc wholc
arer like a drrk clorrtl.
A t t h e c n d o f A 4 1 1 ' l a s ty c r r , C l r u r l i a
Kirschhoch, n 29-ycrr old from MxnhattNn,
New York, vanished from this stretch of
coastliDe.'lb d.tc, despitcrn encrgctic police
hunt, an unprecedented FBI invcstigrtion, w'de
r n e r l i na p p e a l si n d n v i c , , r " r , s c i r r r t ' i i e r r
organised by her family, Claudirls rvhclcaborrts
remain unknorvn.
S h e h a d b e e n s t a y i n g : r t B e a c h c s ,o n e o t
che all-inclusjve resorts which strctch xlonEi
rhe coast, and disapperred some tirtrc ltctrvecn
27 May nnd I June.
T h e c i r c u m s t a n c e ss u r r o u n d i n g $ c c . s c i r e
ocld:shc rvrs not robbcd hc' roorn lvrs not
d i s t u r l r c d r n d n o n c o f h e r P o s s c s s i o n sw c r c
missing; nor rlocs shc fit the profilc ofsomeonc
w h o s r r r r l d r v . r l k< - r uot f h c r o l d l i f c i n t o a n e l
one. Although thc l)olicc srspcct some
r v i t n e s s c sn r n y k n o l ' n o . e t h r n l h c y ' r c s i y i n S ,
evidence ofln1. critre taking place is scxnt; xnd
i f s h e 1 1 ' r sn r u r d e r e d , a s s e e m s i n c r c a s , n g l y
l i k e l y , i t ' s s u l p l i s i n g t h : r t h c r b o d l ' h : r sn c l c r
b e e n f o u n r l . I t l o o k s , a t I i r s t g l r n c c , N si f
Claudia Kirschhoch sinrpll nrcltcd irrto thc
dr1'
hazy afternoon rir ofr (lnril-rbern slrnrrrrcr'.s
This rv'ls no lonesonre ts'cnty-sotnething
havlDg,^ Sft nnd tbc Ci4'$cckcnd inunt to thc
C a r i b b c a n t o e s c r p c t h e s t r e s s e so f t l l a n h a l t a n
lifc. On thc contrrry as one friend sritl, shc las
" d c f i n i t e l y n o t i n a p a r t y m o d e : s h e r v a sr n n
profcssional mode". Claudia rv:rsnn cxperienced
c(litor and writer rvith the Nerv York-Drsc(
Ttancl Otiles.
publishcr of the Iionntr's
Ironically, she rvasn\ cvcn supposcdto be in
Jamaica she'd becn on an assignment to Cubn
to researoh ncw tourist attrxctions whcn retufn
trrvcl arrxngements fcll
throulih and shc ended up
mrrooned in Janaicr rtntil a
flight l)eck to thc Stxtcs corld
be orgrniscd.
-I
hc lncssxlic 1velcomiDg
her honc, lcft b1'herpnrents
on her rnsrvcrphone, ncr'er r c : r c h e dC h u d i r l s
into hcr ncrv rpar-trncnt in M.rnhrttrn.
C l n r r d i r ' . sj o r r r n c v b c g r r n o n W c d n e s d r v , 2 ' l
MNv 2000, .rt Nc\{ York'sJI,'K Airport. She flclv
to tr'Iontcgo ll:ry on AirJ.rmiricr whcre $e plnn
rvrs fbl hcr rnrl thc other journaiists with hcr rtr
chanplephncs and continue to Cuba whcre thcv
rvould st:ry in a new resort in rhe famous
Snndalschrin.
The plan fell apart. Arnerica was grippctl bv
t h e c a s co f l ' , l i a n ( l o n z a l e z , t h e y o u n g ( i r L r n
i l l c g d i m m i g r r n t r v h o h a t l b c c n s n a t c h e dl l o r r r
rclitives in Minnri by Lhc IiBI. That rnd thc
subsequent dccision to send him bnck to Cub,r
AirJamaica officials, concclned both for the
srfety of their guests and the irnNgcof theif
c o n p a n y , t o l d C h u d i , r r n t l h c l c o l l c r g r t c st h r t
t h c y w c r c s i n r p l vn o t g o i n g t o ( i r L r . ' l h c v g . r v c
t h e m r , r u p r i " n I ' r r rt , ' s t r y f , ' r : r t i r r r ci r r . l r r n r i r , t
b e f o r e r c t r r r n i n g t o t h e U n i t e s S t n t c s .( i h r r d i n
chalactcristicalll' callcd rnil upthted hcr p:rrclts
about drc situirtion.
The journalists rverc lxxrkcd into hotcls in
Montcgo Bay for thc night. Onc ofthcm, a 63vcar-old Ncrv hrk-brsed yctcrnn frcelancer
nanr€d'lirnir (lrossingcr; inrnediately strrrck up
n fricndship rvith Chrrdia.
R u s t ' s r r r n r n c rs c h c d u l c s
of i:::::.i:.-":::
seea version
resorts
Tourists
whostayinall-inclusive
nrnrcdiarclv
S t r t c sl ' e r c n t il:i:,lji:,:li:
had a v a i l a h l c , s o t h c y t { c r c
Over570murders
thatisa falseparadise.
Jamaica
offcrcd flcc accorlrrod:rtion
Claudia
arrived
thatyearbefore
already
takenplace
a t r n r l l i n c l u s i v cr c s o r t i n
thc hcach trxln ofNcgril in
t h e n r c 1 1 n t i n r cI .t r v o r r l d l : r t c r e m e l g c t h ' . r t
i r r . , r ' F ( , n . r r r \l ' , r , 1I ' c c n t n , r , l cf , , r r l l i r , , i i r ' , ,
"Shc
r c t u r n 1 ot h c U S A o n N l o n t h y t h e 2 9 r h .
a n c lt h e p e o p l c a t I r r o n r n r e r l r v e r ev c r v
'Ihnix (h)ssingcr
sortcd otrt'r flight hnck t<,
cxcitcd about thc trip l)cc,trsc thcv dor't havc r
Ncrv
York on Srturdry, iust t1v,)rlxvs .r\tiv.
(
h
h
r
and thcl'figurcd it wrs going to
book on
I ! u t t h c n v o r v o r r r c ns l i l l h . ( l t i r t r c o n t h c i r
b e r h c r r p - a n d - c o m i n gp ] a c c , "s . r y sI r r e r l .I l c s i d c
h r r n r t si r r N c g r i l . O h u r l i t r l r s r v e l lt r a v c l l e d .l l c r .
h i m s i t s h i s r v i f c M : r r ' 1 ' A n n c ,$ ' h o s c ( l . r k
f r n i l y r l c n t r c g u l , r r l vt o I i r r r o p c: r n r ls l e ' d l n c r l
, t r r a c t i v c I o o k s l l n d p e t i t c l n r i l d r e s c D r b l ct h c i r
d r u g h t c r l s . I r c r l K i r s c h h o c h r n d 1 4 r r v A n n c h r r d i n t h c s c o k s p r i o r t o t h c r r i p r e s c x r c h i n g I i , r r t i n r c i n P r r i s . I I c r f r n r i l v h r r r lt r i t h i n h c r
l i r e i n A l r r r r r d s n . N e s l e r ' . c r , r r t t t i c t . \ r r r i u r s r s 0 c c t s . ) l ( i u b x s h c \ \ ' , r t c ( l 1 o c r i p L r f c . j r u l g r n c n t , r r t lr b i l i t i c s .
At thc vcrv lcrst thcv Lncs shc'tl glrncctl rrt
, l i s c r c c t l vr l f l u c n r , w p i c . r l l v u p p e r - r n i r l d l c <h s s S h c s r s ' r s c r i o u s - n r i n r l c rl l, r o t c s s i o n r l, r n r l
" S h c I r r . ( l c h , r ' r r r r l ' 1 , ' rr t' , ' s r r r r r r q l r r r r i ' l t, , , . l , r , rr r! , )
r \ n , c r i c r n n c i g h b o r r r h , : o t l .I I c i r t l r t t g h t c r r c g r r r l c r lr h c t r i p ' , r ss o i c t l ) L , , r s i n c s s .
" . l u n r . r i c rc , r n b c r t r r n q u i l r n r l
, r r r r ' ' r , l r: ,rln , r l l - g i r lssc h , , ^ tl h ( r ' l ' c l i , r cl c x v i n g s r r r c s h c p n c k c d : r l o n g s l i i r t , " h c r n r o t h c r $ ' h i c h s t : r t e s r
" S h e f i g u r c ( l t h c ) , r v o r os t i l l l x r c k i n t r i F u i r r gi s l . r r ( 1l,x r t t h c l c t n o d c n l i n g t h r t i t ' s
f r r r u n i v c r s i t y i n \ / i r ' g i n i r rt { } s t u d y P o l i t ; c r l c x p h i n s s r r l l l ' .
s c i c n c c . S h c r c t r r l n c r i t o l i v c w i t h h c r p r r c n t s i n t h c 1 9 5 0 si n t h c i r c u l t u r c , r n r l s h c d i d n ' t p l : r 6 n r c rbl v ' r i r r c , r n t l t l r r r g . . B r r t r r l l t r r i s i t , ' r .
; rr c r r n r l l c c t c t l : t h c v ' r c c s c o r l c { l f r ( ' r t r
u n t i l t h c h c g i n n i n g o f 2 ( X ) 0 ,w h c n s h c n r o v c ( l r v n n tt r r s t r n d o r r t a s r t n A n t c r i c r n . "
14
thrcw thc s'holc of Arrrcricr's crilcri Crrban
conrmunity into outragc. Oultr, iD conrfrst,
r c j " i c c ' l i n . r r t e l , r l c c l c l ' r ; r t i o r r .R. c l : t t i o n s
bcnlccn thc nvo countrics, ncvcr sood it thc
bcst of tirrcs, trozc. r\ir.l.n icx r!fld drc Srn(lxls
r , ' r r r i . r rcrr r r p i r cr l c ,i , l c ' li t s : r s t r r c r rr " n g t i r r r c
t o s c n r lr n c n L c r s o t t h c P r c s st o ( i r b r .
'l
h i s r v n sr l , k x v t o ( i h u r l i r . S h c ' d $ o r k c d
and linia Grossinger arrived in thc Beaches
resort jn Negril around noon on 1'hursday, 25
May. It is an imprcssive resort dcsigned
exclusivcly for families rrld, to a lcsser extent,
singles. It's a sjstcr to Sand'rls which catcrs fc,t
couples and is located a mile or two rlong thc
3
4
5
Borh th€se Stewart operctjons xr€ fl world
away in atmosphere from ne:rrby resorts likc
Hedonism which also share Scven Mile lleach and which encourage a sort of boozc-rrrrd-sex,
fiee-for-all swinging scene.Though it! possible
to do so, guests at the Stewrrt rcsorts don't
normally stray off their own beaches - rhere's
no need to. If you wish to wrlk :rlong to
somewhere like Hedonism, you have to sign out
"lburists
are
of one beach and into another.
meNnt to feel reassuredby such s.rfegurrds.
During my own briefstay there, however, I was
offered both hard rnd soft drugs. I reported this
to security personnel and was told it was a
common problem, dre dealer who'd approached
me had apparendy used a bo.rt.
That's the atrnosphere both plcasantand
u n p l c J i c r a b l e- w h i c h C l a u d i a w : r l k e di n t o
when she and Tlnia anived at Berches.
Later that night they went to one of the
beach bars inside the compound. Intcrvtews
with Thnia later established tlrat dre two wonren
spent about three hours ac the bar. During that
time Claudia told an Anerican tourist that she
was keen to visit Kingstol ro buy old reggrre
breakdown and admitted the police wouldn't
the rirport grounds irld to their hotel grounds
, n d v c n t u r e o u t o n l y o n c x p e n s i v eo r g a n i s e d s t a n da c h a n c ei n t h e e n s u i n g. l r . r o s .T w a sg i r e n records in(l visit the Bob Marley Museum.
' t h e r e a l J a m a i c a ' . a v e r y l a s r r o u r o f s o m e o f r h c r v o r s ti n n e r - c i r y
According to later police interviews, she also
r o u r s . f h o s c w h o w a r r rr o s r c
chatted to the barman, a Jrmaican nanrcd
or at letlst see thc island ill grcater depth, should drug-gang run areas of Kingston where th€
Anthony Grant. He said she drunk four or fivc
lrc prep:rred for some hasslc.Should you gol By palpuble tension reminded me ofthe dark mood
juicc. I.rtcr it
nll means, yes. Re pru(lcnt xnd c.rutious, just as preceding Northern Irelxndt marching season. g l , s s e qo f v o d k . , a n d g r a p e f r u i i
T i r p u t i t r n p e r s p e c r i v cg, u D - c r i m eI n J a m a i c a w o u l d b e a s c e r t a i n e dt h a t C r a n t - d e s p i t c h i s
ifyou werc visiting New York, Miami or LA."
i s p r o p o r t i o n a r e l y 5 0 Up c r c e n t h i g h e r t h a n i n i n i t i a l d e n i a l s w e n t o f f w i t h C l . r r r d i a a f i e r
In theory, an all-inclusivc rcsort in one ofthe
"Any
Tania headed for bed. Claudia told hirn she
h e t t e r l o c a t i o n s i D J a m a i c a s h o u l d h a v e p o s e d d1c States. OneJamaican newspaper said:
country \r'hich is not at war.rnd has no declared l i k e d r e g g a e a n d a b a r a l o n g r h c b c a c h w a s
no thr€xt !o a well-trirvcllcd, strcetwise woman
from New York. llrrt it tlid ancl within rwo d.rys tcrrorist organisation lrrrt which has so rrrany of plnying live music.
5 h c r e l . , r t e da l l t h i s r o f a n j , t h e f o l l o w i r r g
its citizens murdered has a nrajor problem.'
she had v.,rnishcd.
evening, Frid:ry,26 May, whcn they rnet for
Although nrost tourists are protected from
S:rnJrlsi' owncJ hy liurch Srewart, thc
r i c h e s rr n , l r r g r r b l y r h c n r u s ri n f l u e r r r i . rnl r : r ni n t h i s b y s t a y i n g i n a l l - i n c l u : i i v c r c s o r t s , B u t c h , i i n n e r ,a n d r n e n r i o n e dg o i n g s k i n n y - d i 1 4 r i r g
(iranr. She said he'd taken her bNck to me
J e r n , r i c , rI .I i s c h r i n o l r l l - i n . . l r i s i v cf ( ! L , r t s i s Srewam and othcls are t{' tsom happy with the wirh
w o r t h $ 2 5 0 ' n i l l i o n : r r d r c g u l , r r l y s r v e c p st h c ishn<l's crime statistics. Stewdrl, in fact, was so hotel but dropped her offshort ofthc entrancc
angry with the situatiol that hc wrrrnedhe'd mke fbr ferr ofbeing seen breakirrg the rules forbidboard in travelindusty lvrrds. lts orylnisrtiond
a b i l i t i e s a r c a w e s o r n er n d t h e s t l n d l r d i s v e r y h i s b u s i n e s se i s c w h e r ei f t h i n g s r l i d n ' t i m p r o v e ding strff fiom mixing widr gx€sts e sickabl€
' , r n . lv i s i t o r s . c,ffence.Grrnt, shc said, had .rsked to meet hcr
h i g h . A n y c o n r p l a i n t sa r e m i l d : a s s o m e o f t h e i n r c n n s o f s e c u r i t y f o r r c s i r l e n r s
help, again that night, but sh€'d trrned him down.
far
as
asking
for
orrtside
used
He
even
went
i:s
resorts are for couples only and are often
'I
hc rwo rvomcnsrid goodlrycrhe foll,twing
f o r w e t i d i n g s , t h e y c a n h a v e a s l i g h t S t e p f o r d from the US, ro control dre soaring crimc rate.
A reccnt report only just stopped short of rrrorning when they nrer for br<rlifast. Trni,r
Wives feel. It crn also feel slightly rvcird to be
suggesting that i! might be beiter ro (lisband dre wns fllng back to thc US and Claudia still h.rd
c o n f i n c t l r o r c o n r p o u r r r l t. h o u g h r h c r e i s i
country's police conpletcly and start rrgairr.'l he two days bcfbrc hcr own flight was (lue to lervc
strong senseof being protectcd.
-I'hat
breakfast is rhe last
M o s t t o u r i s t s , p a r r i c u l i r l y t h o s c w h o s t r y i n f o r c c i s u n d e n i a b l y u n d e r n r a n n e d a n d p o o r l y on Mondry rhc 29th.
(
W
h
c
n
of
Kirschhoch.
t
h
c
y
confi
rrned
sighting
Chudia
c
o
r
l
u
p
t
i
o
n
i
s
r
i
f
e
.
r h e s c . . r l l - i r r c l u s i vre€ s o r t s ,s c c 0 v e r s i o n o f c q r r i p p e d ,a n d
Irrrr three drys Rc:rchcsnraids canre tnrl wcnt
J l m l i c a t h l t i s . r f . r l s cp a r a t l i s c .W h c n C l . r u d i r w c l e g i v e n 1 0 0 n e w p o l i c c c n r s i n 1 9 9 8 , l 0 o f
'l'hcy
noticld thc bed h.rd not
a r r i v e d i n J . r n u i c r i n r h c s u ' n , r t € ' o f 2 { X X ) ,[ r x t h e r n v a n i s h e d o v c r n i g h t . ) l h e i r a t t e m p t s a t t o l o r - r n r6 2 l .
t
h
e
i
r
b
e
c
n
s
l
c
p
t
i
n
.
r
nd thnt thc towcls werc unuscd.
c x r n l f l l j , o v e r 5 7 0 n l u r d c m h . r d . r l r c . r d yb c c n i r l p l o v i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n o n l y h i g h l i g h t
'l'ucsday
connrittetl on thc island drrrt ycrrr. Whilc nrost i n c p t i t t r d e . T h e y h . , r v co n l y j r r s t e s t a b l i s h e da Y c r t h e y t o l d n o o u e . f t w . r sr r o t u n t i l
o f t h c s c t o o k p h c e i n t h c K i n g $ l ( ) nr r c a , i t c u n Dirtional lvljssirg |ersorrs Ilulc.ru, for exanrple, thrt drc allrnr w:rs rlisctl. llven thcn, howcvcr,
s c c n r s o r D e t i n l € s r s t h o u g h c r i m e i s ( , t ' t ( r f d e s p i t et h e f a c t r h , r rh o , l i c s l c g u l r r l y r u r n u p i r r l i t t l c w r s r l r - r n e . ' hl i s w r s c x t l n o r r l i n . r r yb y
t h c h i l l s o f P l a n t a c i ' , rI I c i g h r sr r r J S t C a d r e r i r r c r r , ' r n r a ls t a n r l a r , l sl.r u r c v e n i n o r c h i / r r r c g i v c n
control in Jrtll:ric'r .n(l il's nor uncomtllorr for
- bodies which ofren hrve no idcnrity aDdno thc conrprny's rcputxtion for kccping l close
soldiers to be dcployed on the streets. \4/hen I
eye oo irs grrests.Somebody had sligred u1>
rrnxiousrehr.iveswaiting to cl'.rillrdrcm.
visited in 1999, .r senior tourism insider colfitlcd
llack in the USA, Claudiat parents and )
Against this backdrop Claudie Kirschhoch
h c f u l l y e x p e c t e riln r n r i n e n rs o c i a l: r n t le c o n o r r i c
15
) collcagucs rvcrc still cxpecting her to r*urn to
Ncrv Yr;rk.rt 8.3Opn on'l'hursday, I June,..rs
o r i g i n ; r l l y p l . r n n e r l .l V h c n h e r p a r e n t s h a d n ' t
herltl anything by the foilorving tlay, they called
hcnrpartrrrent in New Yolk.'l'hcre w:rs no
leplv.'Ihcy then phoned her office but were
told she hrdr'r rrrived for work. They knew
inrnrediate\' sornething wlrs rvrong. They c.rlled
Janrricr rnd spokc to somcone rt a Berchcs
officc iu Montcgcr Ii.ry. FIc suggested th:rt
( i l r u d i a I u d p e r h . r p s c x t e n t i e d h e r s t : r y .I { e r
p r r r c n t si n s i s t c c lt h r r t h i s w r s n o r s c n s e - s h e ' d
h.rvc told rhem ifshe'd rnrtlc such a decisror.
'l
hcy kcpt phoning until they wele finrlly
rold ofthe discoveryrhrt hcl bed Iudn't been
slept irr antl that hcr belongings were rll int..rct.
O n r i n o u s l y , t h e s a f e - d e p o s i tb o x s t i l l h e l d h e r
p l r s s p o r t ,r e t u r n t i c k c c , c r e d i t c a r d s . r n d $ 1 8 0
iD c:lsh.
Events then took a more sinisrer turn. A "PR
rlan" whom Mr Kirschhoch spokc to at Negrilt
chimed that Clrrrdia hrd fril€d to rncet']}ni,
when she w.rs dcpalting, descritring this as
"typical
bchaviour" since she "ncvcr showed rrp
for anything rve did for hcr". T he rnan alsr>
c h i m e d h e ' d s e e n C l a r r d i ao n t h e S u n d a y a n d
that she'd failed to turn up tbr.r Iifi to the
rirport on Mond;ry.
According to the Kirschhochs, rhe PR manb
c l a i m s w e r e n o n s e n s e ,H e ' d l o s t t r . r c k o f
Claudir :rnd it would later be shown tlrar he was
simply covering himself.
'fhc
f a ' r i l y c r l l e d t h e i r r c p r e s e n r a r i v e si n
14/rshingron for help. Claudia's publishing
conrprny Bor involvcd roo lln rhc lollowing
Wedncsdny flerv her parents to Kingston. A
reward of $25,000 was established, quickly
dorrbled by Stew:rrtand wonlr a hefty two million
JanBicaD dolhrs. Posrerswere disrributed to tne
local press and the firlily rnade radio appeds.
Srew.rn provided thern with accommodation and
covered sonre of their erpenses.
A l r e a d y w o r r i e d a b o u t t h e J a m a i c . r np o l i c e t
.bility to solve the nrystery they contacred th€
-fhcir
liBL
congressm:rn threw his weight
trchintl the crse ud ensurcd the FBI were grvrn
icc€ss to thc casc. ByJuly 2000, si-r FBI agents
r v e r e o n r h c i s l a r r di n v e s t i g a r i n g C l a u d i a ' s
dislppearlncc.'l'hey turned up vital but rs yet
i n c o n c l u s i v e e v i d c n c c w h i c h c a s rr l o u b t u p o r r
lhc stalcn€nt ofAnthony Crtlnt, rh€ bartender.
'l'hey
:rlso fbund nrconsistenciesin rhc evidence
ofothcr pcoplc.
A s c n i o r S . r n d a l sP R r n a n t o l d t h e p r c s st h a t
l i n i r C r o s s i n g e r h a c lt o l d h i r n i n c o n f l d e n c e
thrt (llaudia atlnittcd she'd had scx with the
tnrmun aficr the reggac concct.'l'his shockcd
hcr prrents arrd'Iinia, who "vehcmently denics"
evcl urakilg such a st:rtenrelt.
IlLrtClrudia's morals wcrc srrddcnly in
( t u c s t i o n . ' l h c P l l . r u . r n ' sc l a i m s , h c r p r r e n t s
bclicve, wcrc falrricrtctl so that he wouklnt losc
h i s j o b . l ) e n i g r ' . r t i n gr h c i r d a r r g h r e r ' sc h r r a c t e r .
rrlso .rllowcd hinr to push hcr ink) the "sex-rnds . , t r r r lr"r t c g o l y o f t o r r r i s t s w h o h c a r l t o J u n r i c a
to nrcct l local ur:rn tbr thc night,
S t c w r r r r c p r i m r n r l e r l h i s s t : r f T r n d c l r l l e ( lt h c
farnilyto apologise.The presspickedup on He failedsomepartsof it bucdid reportedly
theser<fercnces,
rhoLrgh.
and begansuggcscingp a s sd r e q u e s r i o no f w h e t h e rh e ' d h a r m e d
that Chudii h;rdperhaps"brokenloose"and Claudia.This hasled her parentsto believethat
run off into the hills with :rJamaican.IIer he rnayknow rvho did. I'Iis housewassearched
p a r c n t sl e g a r d t h i s a s b e n e a t hc o n r e m p t : and r hair, leter identifiedas Claudia's,was
knowing dreir daughter,and given her life, retrievedhom the brck seatofhis car.Despite
occupation
and rhenatureofher trip, theyput this,he still deniesshewaseverin drere.
the chancesofthis aslessthrn zero.
The Kirschhochsalsodraftedin a search"When confrontedby the FBI
Irhe Sandals and-rescredog from Oregonwhich tracedtheir
PR manl rvasfbundto he lying.He exphined d:rughter's
scentro Grent\ house,which he
he did this fbr rhe good of Sandrlsrnd ro save shareswidr hismother rnd extendetlfamily.
"Ile lied rborrt
his job," saythe Kirschhochs.
Crrnt sayshe had a rwo-nightrelarionship
tilking to Claudir on Sunday,28Mrry,rnd with Claudiabut deniesanywrongdoing.Policc
purposelyrried to portray her asirrcsponsible sourcesarc not coDvinced.'fheyhavetold the
and frivolous.llutch Stetvrrrtdnrirtedto rhe family they "do not thnrk Gr:rntt lbur daysoff
FBI dut [the PR en4loyce]told hnn hc'd lietl." [rvork] fronr Sundry through until Wednesday
Anthony (;rrDt, rh€ barmrn, statedthat he'd and his requestfbr slecpingpills andsronrrch
h:rdsexrvith Claudiaafter thc concertalld that medicationare a coincideDce.
We fcel he knows
he werrtout rvith her rgrin on Frid;rynight.
B o t h c l a i m sc h s h w i t h ' l a n i : rC r o s s i n g e r t
Other puzzling factshavecome to light: the
e v i d e n c e- s h es a y sC l r u d i a " t o l d h e r t h e y Pll man who lied aboutmeetingClaudiaon the
specificnllytlid not lhavcsexl",:rndin frct ir was Sundayalsornexpectedlytook four daysotT
shewho had had dinner with Cl:rudi:ron the work after shevnnished;he rlso tricd ro ott{nr
Fritlaynight.
a new passportat short notice.Then drcrers
Cr.rnr wasqrrcstionedby the local policeand the disappcrrance
of rhe resort\vehicle,crruy
by the FIll, who gavchirn a lie-derectortest. iogs and securitytapcs and with thenrthe
ability to positivelyid€nrifyrwo nlen in a car
who turned up the weckendClaudiavanished,
askingfor her by namear the front desk.Ir has
also beenestablishedthat Claudia'smobile
phoneis rnissing:it wasmentionedin the iist
o f p o s s e s s i o nfso u n d i n h e r r o o m b u r r r
vanishedwhile in thc safekeeping
ofthe resort\
securitychief.
I{er plrcnts awaitwith interesrDNA tests
being currently carried out by the FBI on the
interior ofGranr\ crr and on a pair ofgloves
and bootswhich thc search-and-rescuc
dog
i d e n t i f i e da s h a v i n gb e e n i n c o n t a c tw i t h
Claurliatscenr.The gloveswerein.,rsuircase
under Grant'sbed.The resultsare expected
within weeks.
T h e K i r s c h h o c h so' b v i o u sd e c e n c ya n d
p0tent horror at rhe predicanrentthey find
themselv€sin has endearedthenr to many
Jamaicanswho'veseenthem hike up and down
SevenMile Beachhanding out leafletsand
postersduring rheirfour visirslo Ncgril sircc
Claudiat disapperlance
Iastyerr.
Thoseposrerslre srill trckcd rrp in various
placesaroundthe resorts.They showa snrrll,
slim,dark-hairedwomansuriiingbeneaththe
word "Missirrg"and ibove the word "Reward".
Peopleare encouragedto call a helplineor log
onto wwrv.findclaudia.honrestead.conr.
The Kirschhochseling with iron resolveto
the slim hope that their daughtermay be atrve
somewhereon thc island- possiblybeing held
ageinst
herwill.
T h e y a r e a l r e a d yp h n n i n ga n o r h e r r i p r o
Jamaica.Oncc there,they'll checkinto a snrall,
quiet hotel whereth€y'll g3lhertheir srrengrh,
pick up their postcrsand srep out into the
hlezingsunshincro begintheir searchagain,
hoping and prayingwirh everyfootprint in rhc
goldensandof ScvenMile Beachfor nothing
lessthan n nriracle.I
17