SpinnerBait_Nut
Honorary Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2002
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Don't know if any of you have heard about it, but these people are kinda friends of the family and would like you to keep them in your thoughts.<br />_______________________________________________<br /><br />GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA The search continues for a missing Ashland couple on their honeymoon in Costa Rica, as friends and family in Ashland, Lancaster and Richmond await word of their fate.<br /><br />Mark and Laura McCloud Vockery, of Elliott Avenue, left on a half-day sports fishing expedition early Friday morning from the resort town of Flamingo, on the country's west coast. They and the boat's three-man crew have not been seen since.<br /><br />The boat was being operated by Capt. Harold Gonzalez Rodriguez, assisted by Danilo Gonzalez Rodriguez, both in their 20s, and Mayel Gomez Alanis, 16.<br /><br />Extensive air and sea searches were ongoing over the weekend and continued Monday, as government and private helicopters, planes and boats offered their services. According to the Costa Rican Red Cross, which is heading the search efforts, family members of the Vockerys have traveled to the country and are now involved in the search as well. Bill Vockery of Lancaster, Mark's brother, was to be in Costa Rica Monday.<br /><br />"They've got planes and boats out and have not seen anything at all," said Mark's mother, Kathy Vockery of Lancaster. "Everyone has been marvelous. (U.S. Rep.) Ben Chandler's office has even called and they've got some some planes out. <br /><br /><br />"I had a husband in Vietnam and my oldest son was in Saudi," she said, "and going through this is much harder. Not knowing anything and having to wait, that's the hard part. It's a heartache. We've seen an outpouring of love and that's what's getting our family through this."<br /><br />Despite being a popular tourist spot heavily populated by fishing boats and pleasure watercraft, there have been no sightings of the Vockerys' boat or its passengers.<br /><br />No foul play is suspected, the Red Cross reports. There was stormy weather, along with choppy seas, reported in the area at the time of the Vockerys' trip, but it is not known if that contributed to the boat's disappearance. The Red Cross said several boats returned to port early Friday because of bad weather.<br /><br />Mark Vockery is a safety, health and environmental consultant with McCulley, Eastham and Associates. His wife is a long-time recreational therapist in the behavioral medicine department of Kings Daughter's Medical Center.<br /><br />Todd Eastham, one of Mark Vockery's co-workers, said the news of the Vockerys' disappearance has hit the Greenup-based company very hard.<br /><br />"It's just been awful," Eastham said.<br /><br />Monday, he said more than 100 people called the company expressing their concern and support.<br /><br />"Our clients have been very understanding and we appreciate their support during this time," Eastham said.<br /><br />He described the couple as "fine, upstanding citizens" who were involved in numerous community organizations and activities.<br /><br />"Every single year, he looks for some exotic place to go to adventure, some place he can go explore," Eastham said. "And he chose Costa Rica this year. I know he was really excited about the trip."<br /><br />The Vockerys are members of the First Christian Church on Winchester Avenue. The secretary at the church said Monday that the family has requested that no one there talk to the media.<br /><br />Friends say they got married about a year ago, but were finally taking their honeymoon. The couple had four children between them: Ben, Karli, Bailey and Jake.<br /><br />In addition to his work in the Ashland area, Mark Vockery was a part-time Eastern Kentucky University professor of Safety and Loss Prevention in the College of Justice and Safety. He is scheduled to teach during the fall semester, according to Marc Whitt, associate vice president for public relations and marketing at EKU.<br /><br />He received a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Administration from EKU in 1985 and a master's degree in Safety and Loss Prevention Administration in 1993.<br />_____________________________________________________________________<br />Update:<br />GUANACASTE, Costa Rica U.S. military and Coast Guard planes and boats joined the search for an Ashland couple missing at sea since Friday, while friends and family in Kentucky waited and prayed.<br /><br />According to a spokesman for Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and a massive C-130 transport plane are combing the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica's west coast where Mark and Laura McCloud Vockery were last seen Friday, along with the three crewmen of the sport fishing boat they had engaged for a half-day expedition.<br /><br />"We've been working with the Coast Guard and the embassy and the Overseas Citizens Service," said Loren Carl, a field representative for Chandler.<br /><br />The Costa Rican and neighboring Nicaraguan coast guards also are searching as are numerous private fishing and pleasure craft, Carl said.<br /><br />Weather conditions have been fairly tame, which has helped searchers, Carl said. <br /><br />A false news report in the Tico Times, a newspaper based in Costa Rica, reported that the couple and the boat crew were "in good health" after their fishing boat "went off course for reasons that are being investigated."<br /><br />Mark's mother, Kathy Vockery remains on edge awaiting good news, but the misleading news article hurt her the most, she said.<br /><br />"She called me this morning upset about the false report," Carl said. "People ought to verify these things after they (report) something like that."<br /><br />The best case scenario for Kathy Vockery is that the couple and crew are still drifting in the ocean.<br /><br />"We're praying that they're out there somewhere," she said. "The hardest thing I have to deal with is nighttime, because I know the search is over with at night. You know there's hope when they're searching, but at night, you fear for them. Anyone who's had someone missing has to fight that same battle."<br /><br />Back home, friends and family wait and pray for a safe return for the Elliott Avenue couple, who disappeared during a delayed honeymoon trip they were taking a year following their marriage.<br /><br />The First Christian Church on Winchester Avenue, where the Vockerys have been members for about a year, had a prayer vigil Monday and plan to focus on the Vockerys during its 6 p.m. Wednesday vesper service, said the Rev. Ike Nicholson.<br /><br />"There were over 100 people last night, and the interesting thing was it was on such short notice," Nicholson said.<br /><br />"What was amazing were the prayers of the people, the tremendous faith and hope everyone had," he said.<br /><br />Between them the couple have four children, who are with their other parents, Nicholson said.<br /><br />The parents have asked him to refrain from releasing information on the children, but he did say they are safe and well cared for. "They're remaining strong and they know what's going on," he said.<br /><br />Mark Vockery's brother Bill was expected to arrive in Costa Rica Tuesday, said Vockery's business associate Todd Eastham.<br /><br />Eastham said he may go there himself later in the week if he's needed.<br /><br />"I just hope they come through this all right," said Neil Wright of Greenup, a friend of Mark Vockery. "If anyone can, it's Mark. He's resourceful. He's an outdoorsy type person. He's a go-getter."<br /><br />Hope is the key, said Nicholson, the Vockerys' pastor. "Our prayers are that we know they'll come home. My task is to continue to foster that hope for the eventual safe return of Mark and Laura."
<br /><br />I hope that this story have a happy ending.<br /><br />Probably its a good idea for them not to talk to the media, they'll turn everything into a big circus like whats going on down in Aruba.
