------
| Six-year search for son |
| TAPAS CHAKRABORTY |
|
Jock and Dianne Chambers with a picture of son Ryan, who went missing in Hrishikesh in 2005
|
Lucknow, Aug. 24: An Australian couple have returned to India for the third time to resume the search for their missing son who disappeared exactly six years ago from the holy town of Hrishikesh.
Jock Chambers and his wife Dianne arrived yesterday, apparently after being told by some well-wishers that their son Ryan had been spotted in the country.
A couple of years back, some family friends had told them they had seen someone like Ryan in Goa. However, no confirmation has come from Goa police.
Ryan, who was 21 when he disappeared on the morning of August 24, 2005, from an ashram, had stayed in the pilgrim town by the Ganga for two weeks, learnt yoga and met several sadhus.
What might have given the couple some hope is a sentence they recently came across in their son’s diary. “If I am gone, I am not dead, I have gone to free my mind...” the words read.
Jock, 58, said they had come on a journey of hope, though confirmation was never possible about the “supposed” sightings. “We are realistic, but miracles do happen,” he said.
“Had my son disappeared from Australia for such a long period, I would have lost all hope,” added Dianne, 55. “But the culture of India to adopt outsiders makes me believe that my son is alive and is somewhere in India.”
The couple, who met the media today, have another son.
A police officer in Hrishikesh said Ryan, who was studying in a college in Australia, was wearing only shorts when he left the ashram on August 24. “He left his belongings, cash, phone and passport. We have not heard from him since.”
Dehra Dun police superintendent G.S. Martolia said a special investigation team had been set up by Uttarakhand police, but the search remained inconclusive.
Dianne and Jock, who are visiting India for the fourth time, will knock on dharamshalas and ashrams that dot the banks of the Ganga in both Hrishikesh and Hardwar. The couple today met Uttarakhand governor Margaret Alva and senior police and government officials.
They plan to visit Indore, Badrinath, Pune, Goa, Shimla, Kullu, Manali and possibly also Chennai during their 10-day search.
Jock said Ryan had called up his home in Australia on the evening of August 23, 2005, to say he was ready to return as he had “seen everything I wanted”.
“Today is the sixth anniversary…. We miss him badly,” said the sobbing father.
In December last year, the parents of a 20-year-old Japanese university student, Kota Shinozaki, returned to India for the second time to look for their lost son, but returned empty-handed.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110825/jsp/frontpage/story_14422044.jsp[/td][/tr][/table]
