YatharthA Viral Campaign
Hannah’s friends extended their search by going online and creating a Facebook page that they named “Find Hannah Upp.” The page included Hannah’s profile, the place where she was last seen, the time of her disappearance and other essential details that could help identify Hannah. A condition that Hannah suffered from was also mentioned over the page, although, not everyone knew what exactly it meant, this could possibly serve as an important key in finding Hannah.
A Failed Attempt
The search continued for three consecutive days without any positive result. Moreover, the coast guard canceled the search so as to prepare themselves for another disaster, Hurricane Maria. The search crew now believed that she must have drowned and her body would eventually be found sooner than later. But Hannah’s friend was not buying this theory and came up with their own hypothesis of what could have happened. A majority of them believed that she got on a boat to Puerto Rico, or maybe Miami, and was perhaps helping the displaced people, as she was proficient in speaking Spanish. But, by the looks of it, all their theories weren’t fitting; something else had happened.
Jake Bradley
“A friend in need is a friend indeed”, Hannah’s friends stepped up when the search was canceled. They collaborated with Jake Bradley, an emergency technician, and re-established their search operation. Jake continued to look around the coast in his boat when Hurricane Maria attenuated. He left no stone unturned in his search, he scoured every place where Hannah could be, the airport, the beaches, the hospitals, shelters for the homeless, and what not but nothing helped.
A Missing Link
Hannah’s friends still had some hope left in them, they took it to Facebook and uploaded her information on a group “What’s Going on St. Thomas,” a page that the community used for sharing details about missing people. Apparently, Hannah was seen at a bar named Rum Hut, but it turned out to be Hannah’s friend, not her. In midst of many flying rumors, Hannah’s mother, Barbara Bellus, flew to the island and disclosed an underlying condition of Hannah that might make things more simpler.
Something’s Fishy
Hannah had now been missing for almost as much as two months, and that was when Barbara Bellus arrived on the St. Thomas island on November 21, 2017. No one knew Hannah quite as her mother did, Barbara initiated her own search operation, hoping that Hannah might turn up. She did the same as what Hannah’s friends had been doing, Barbara checked her daughter’s favorite bars, shops, restaurants, and beaches. She particularly searched the abandoned buildings and placed leaflets with Hannah’s face on the front porch and under the doors. She did it keeping in mind a similar experience that Hannah had gone through before.
Gathering The Clues
During her endeavor, Barbara bumped into a lot of people who gave her information about Hannah. On January 23, 2018, a couple of volunteers at the Bethlehem House Shelter, who served their help to the homeless people in St. Thomas made a call to Barbara to notify that they had found Hannah at an abandoned house. Listening to this news, Barbara immediately raced to the given location with a police detective to assure if the girl was Hannah.