Have you seen Jonathan Spollen? Missing in Rishikesh since February 3rd, 2012

Yes, maybe; or so what I meant of course was more likely it would have been just a book I happened to be carrying and reading, and it could have been any other. (The example bubbled up since I did in fact once buy me a cheap Indian edition of Moby Dick there, then never got around to reading much of it, pretty impossible with a demanding book like that in small print on them wobbly trains and buses.)* Likewise, if one now meets a fellow traveler and you happen to be reading or know the same book, well, presto, there you have a conversation starter. It just goes like that. Anyways, let's not debate it, your observation wasn't wrong, and indeed all details and observations may help. I wasn't arguing.

* On the other hand, perhaps you do have a point, in that on that trip my money ran out, and I found myself standing in or nearby harbors indeed and -- mostly romantically and unrealistically, as I realized even then -- considering my options.

This was in the early 1990's btw, there was no internet or at least it wasn't common and in its infancy if it was -- perhaps some bulletin boards? I certainly wasn't engaged with it, and probably had an aversion to whatever of it did exist --, telephoning was expensive on my very tight budget, and of course there were no cellphones, no texting, most communications were by what is now known as snail-mail, indeed. Ah, the excitement on your part of seeing if anything awaited you at the Poste Restante. Different times, for sure. Had something happened to you, and though I was writing home all the time and they to me, it could indeed easily have taken weeks I guess for the homefront to even start noticing that perhaps something might be amiss.

But of course what I really meant is one could be reading anything, at any time. It doesn't tell you much, and one should be careful in trying to analyze it. I could give you a whole list of other books I bought and read, or attempted to read, there; it really tells you nothing. A common phenomenon in cases such as this will be whatever seems significant will seem significant; it tends to rule out all that is just banal. Whereas it needs to be acknowledged much of our life is just banal. Not everything we read etc. says a lot about us. Other than again Shantaram being popular among travelers to India, and perhaps to elsewhere even; that would seem like the first and most rational explanation.

I've certainly carried around very goofy books there and elsewhere; it probably just wouldn't lead to these thoughts, if it were found so. Hm, Stephen King's Cujo, eh? The Harlequin books, by any chance? My girlfriend who I consider to be an intelligent woman likes to read those at times (as well as daft crime and horror novels, indeed), by way of bedtime stories.

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ps I really don't know if this is gonna be of any help, but this organization was once brought up by a member here. They're about medical assistance and repatriation and stuff, however they do also claim to be involved with search & rescue operations. If that would be deployed for missing individuals, no idea. (I guess it's quite possible it would be more along the lines of assisting entire mountaineering expeditions landing up in an avalanche or so.) But it might not hurt to contact them and see if they can do anything for you, I reckon: East West Rescue, http://www.eastwestrescue.com/.

I have posted a thread in the Trekking forum directing people here to this thread. Thanks for the suggestion.


This is the thread:
Garud Chatti area, Rishikesh - advice needed from experienced trekkers

Lynda, if you would like us to change/add to what we are asking in the trekking forum please mention it here and one of the mods will edit that post.

Correct, no observations are right or wrong at this point. They are what they are. Let's face it many travelers to Rishikesh are not your everyday tourist/sightseeing types - so any angle, however slight, may be useful - especially those that are most prominent in the days leading up to his disappearance.

Here's the website of a couple who were in Rishikesh from 26th Jan to around 14th feb,they also trekked to 2 small waterfalls upstream;
http://steppinouttababylon.com/?p=447

It's possible they crossed paths with Jonathon,so it may be worth trying to contact them,after Rishikesh they went to Nepal.

They also made a few videoblogs, which may be worth trawling through;

http://steppinouttababylon.com/?p=434

http://steppinouttababylon.com/?p=436

I know of organization who conducts trekking expedition through out India. May be you can ask for some info / volunteers from them. Not sure if this can be helpful but I really pray Jonthan is safe and you meet him soon.The organization name is Youth Hostel of India. Their website is http://yhaindia.org/

Interseting video, Thanks KK. They talk about an arguement with somne locals claiming to be government officials who wanted payment to go to the two waterfalls. It seemed to be quite tense. Any significance? At the least would these locals have seen Johnathan?

I don't mean to speak for David & Lynda, who should be in a better position to answer this, then again I imagine they'll have a lot on their minds.

Here's an attempt at distilling the gist of this thread so far. I thought of attempting a German translation while I was at it, but my written German isn't that great, and I'm sure you'll be better at it, Federica. Let me know though if you need help with it, you're free to PM me about it. If you could spread this around relevant German trekking or travel forums, that would of course be just splendid. Note: to correctly copy the URL's below, hit "quote" on this post, then copy that full text (of course minus this introduction). Those URL's will otherwise break, or if you don't copy them one-by-one and by hand.

Let David & Lynda improve on this by all means of course, if they want to or have the time:

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Have you seen Jonathan Spollen? Missing in Rishikesh since February 3rd, 2012

Have you seen Jonathan Spollen? Missing in Rishikesh since February 3rd, 2012

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Our son Jonathan Spollen is 28 years old, 6 feet tall (approx. 1.8 meters), from Ireland. He was last seen in Rishikesh, India, on February 3rd, 2012. He may have been planning to go on a trek. If you have seen Jonathan or know where he is, please contact me (David) or his mother (Lynda) urgently.

Jonathan's Indian visa would have expired on February 21st, 2012. His last telephone contact home was in the early morning, Indian time, of February 3rd, 2012. He had at that time been planning to go to Delhi, but had changed his mind, and seemed to be intent on going on another trek in the Rishikesh region, instead. Communications with his family had been good.

David and some more of Jonathan's friends and family have been in the region since the beginning of March, to conduct searches on the spot.

You can phone, e-mail or text at any time:

Police: +91 135 243 0228
David mobile: +91 8802708618
David e-mail: davidgreen100@xtra.co.nz
Lynda e-mail: lyndaspollen@eircom.net
Phone: +353 1 216 4441
Phone or text: +353 87 243 8996

A support and donations site to assist in the search efforts has been opened at http://www.findspollen.com/.

Jonathan Spollen works as a writer and editor for the International Herald Tribune in Hong Kong, his personal homepage: http://www.jonathanspollen.com/.

********

Poster in English (Word document): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...pollen_eng.doc
Poster in Hindi (Word document): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...enhindidoc.doc
Poster in Hebrew (Word document): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...ter-hebrew.doc
Poster in English (PDF): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...spolleneng.pdf
Poster in Hindi (PDF): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...ollenhindi.pdf
Poster in Hebrew (PDF): http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...ter-hebrew.pdf

Poster in English (JPG):
http://i40.tinypic.com/2ldvygj.jpg
Poster in Hindi (JPG):
http://i39.tinypic.com/2hxr883.jpg
Poster in Hebrew (JPG):
http://i44.tinypic.com/32zifer.jpg

********

The picture that has emerged is that Jonathan was mostly in the Rishikesh area in January 2012, around the German bakery area. He was on a trek from 14 - 28 January. If anyone was trekking at that time - and very few routes were open then - please let us know.

He came back from this trek with a tummy bug and a slight limp after a tumble near a waterfall. Does this ring any bells with readers? Did anyone see a 6 foot tall European guy, quite pale, thin, long dark hair with beard, possibly limping, in the Laxman Jhula bridge area, around the end of January, start of February?

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Around March 11, 2012, some of Jonathan's belongings were found by a small waterfall halfway up the road to Phool Chatti, nearby Rishikesh. It looks like he was camping there. Among his belongings were travel documents, a book (Shantaram) and the usual things you would expect - shampoo, basic medicines for stomach upsets and headaches, etc. On investigation at the location the police also found his sleeping bag and some clothes.

The authorities are on top of it. We understand a full search of the area will commence asap.

* Has anyone seen Jonathan in the last couple of weeks in the Phool Chatti area? Perhaps with somebody else?

* There is a village above the spot, now identified as probably the local village of Patna. Could he have been there, could he be there now?

********

As of March 12, 2012, the last 100% confirmed sighting of Jonathan was in Laxman Jhula between 12 - 14th Feb., where he spoke with a lady for some time as they were both reading the same book, Shantaram. They discussed the book and generally chatted but the conversation didn't turn to anything that may be relevant to our search.

The police are doing everything humanly possible to carry out the most thorough search in the shortest space of time, but it is obvious we require numbers far beyond what the police force could be expected to provide. Volunteers are needed.

Focus Area: Valley to the east of Garrachatti (Garud Chatti) Bridge, Neelkanth Road, which contains Garrachatti Waterfall. Note this bridge may be better known locally as Neelkanth Bridge. It is in or near to Rishikesh.

Waterfall: About 1km from the chai (tea) shop at the bottom of the trail.

Small Hollow: About 1km further up trail from waterfall.

Search area of roughly 4 kilometers square in hilly, forested terrain.

If you have any information or are in the area and wish to volunteer, please get in touch with us.

Police: +91 135 243 0228
David mobile: +91 8802708618
David e-mail: davidgreen100@xtra.co.nz
Lynda e-mail: lyndaspollen@eircom.net
Phone: +353 1 216 4441
Phone or text: +353 87 243 8996

Those two fellows were either frauds or corrupt officials trying to flush out money from unsuspecting tourists. So they are not going to come forth. I think no point in looking for them

I wonder if any of the folks who work the tourist trade in Laxman Jhula know of a couple of guys using intimidation tactics to shake down hippies in the woods. That's the kinda of thing which can escalate. Somebody could have bragged if the scam was relatively benign. It’s been a while but I spent enough time there to realize the locals know who the unsavory types are, but that’s a long way from wanting to finger somebody to the cops.

I do hope Spollen turns up well and soon.

ps

Federica, I see you've seen my summary above by now (since you "liked" it), maybe it is in fact best if we give David and/or Lynda a day or two to comment on it if they want, then you can proceed with passing it on in German. I think Lynda logs on here fairly frequently, under David's account. Cheers.

pps On the Missing Frenchman thread, member Abracax left a note that there's a notice to that effect at the Interpol website, and whether Jonathan shouldn't be reported there, as well: Missing Frenchman, last seen in Joshimath on 13 December 2011.

Thanks for summing up the facts machadinha.
His belongings were found near a waterfall. The area around must have been observed to find signs of him camping there. The cops can very well do that. Would he go on a trek leaving his stuff behind unattended near a waterfall?
I presume that the "belongings" don't mean everything he had including passport, credit/debit cards.
What all are missing from his belongings?
What I have observed during my sojourns in these areas is that everyone knows everyone from one's own village as well as from neighbouring villages and outsiders are always noticed. I don't think there exists any remote trekking routes near Rishikesh.

I've just emailed the administrator of the Austrian bilingual (German/English) http://www.trekkingforum.com to spread the message about Jonathan. Let's see, if I don't get a reply, I will register there and post it by myself. Maybe another IMer is also a member there, if so, he/she could do that, I'll provide the German translation.

I'll go on searching for other forums, but so far there's nothing like Indiamike, and lots are referring to IM in many cases


I'm still confused whether his passport, flight ticket and such stuff were among the found items, if there was a wallet, was there still money in it (this would look like an accident), if not, it would look like theft/robbery.


Trekkingforum:
Ok, got a reply. I have to register, but they will support the case and the owner is also an IMer who will be in Uttarkhand in April

Will register and post it there today.

I should think this would absolutely have to be another angle to take along in investigations. I've never ran into this sort of thing yet, but one does hear it happens, and I can imagine it could escalate. And I guess it may be more of a (potential) issue around these areas where foreign tourists/travelers/backpackers are known to congregate; one does indeed hear of it in some of these popular mountain destinations, or so it seems. It's not really my scene, which is maybe why I don't know too much about it, first-hand. But one hears things.

Cheers for your efforts, Federica. (And saw your addition just now: Great going )

It would be good to know what was and what wasn't among the documents and possessions found yes.

But it would be hard to interpret, either way: If I were to go for a walk, or generally moving around at all, certainly I'd keep my passport and money and other valuables (camera etc.) on me, not in a lone camp. Heck, I do so staying in hotels, even. (Say budget to mid-range.)

ps Just now I had been re-editing that summary above, then screwing up the post in the process. I managed to fix it again (and have now copied & saved it for good measure, phew ), but make sure you use the correct and full version, Federica. It should end with a call for volunteers, and the contact addresses again.

Hi Peter, don't get confused, there are 2 lots of waterfalls just outside Rishikesh,the 1st are the ones these Finnish travellers tried to get to but aborted because they didn't want to pay the locals,this waterfall is very popular with tourists & the guys who charge although not "official!" are there all year round,it's how they make their living.

If you notice in the video the guy says they've been told there are another 2 waterfalls further along on the otherside of the river & they will go to them later, which they do & take photo's which are on the website, i think this is Garud Chatti waterfalls,though i'm not certain.

I think it would be worth one of Jonathons friends or family trying to contact these travellers on the off chance that they bumped into & had a chat with Jonathon,i know it's a long shot,but any info they could provide might help.KK

More AWOL in Laxmanjhula