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Story and photo by Suzanne Nielsen and reprinted with permission of the
Daily Herald.
January 19, 2007
Saba Chief of Police and Lt. Governor Sydney Sorton said Friday that the investigation remains ongoing into the disappearance of missing American hiker Joel Gove. Intensive organized trails searches have been discontinued, but all Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF) staff, trail maintenance workers, fishermen, and citizens are still on alert for any clues as to the whereabouts of the 47-years old environmentalist who was last seen on December 28th.
Gove checked into a rental villa managed by El Momo cottages On December 25th. The villa, located about 10-minutes' walk from the cottages, offers complete privacy to vacationers since its entrance faces seaward and is not visible from the road.
At breakfast December 28th, Gove told El Momo staff where he intended to hike that day. It is known that he stopped to purchase water at a small village grocery store about 10 minutes from the trailhead and crossed the path of another hiker later that morning on his declared route. When Gove did not reappear at his scheduled checkout on December 30th and the hotelier found Gove's passport and airline ticket still in the villa, he notified the SCF trail manager that the hiker might be missing. Within less than one hour, SCF head Jan den Dulk started to organize three formal search parties.
For the next 48 hours, den Dulk was in charge of a massive search effort involving SCF staff, the Saba Fire and Police Departments, and many volunteers. A brother, Gove's ex-wife, and coworkers also arrived on Saba to search the trails and profile Gove to the police. The American Vice Consul Bill Furnish from Curaçao and the Legal Attaché from the American Embassy in Barbados spent last weekend on Saba conferring with Saban authorities and offering assistance. Furnish said that it was clear that the investigation was proceeding in a professional manner and that Gove's brother Brad felt the same.
The first searches concentrated on the trails near where the hiker was last seen and included deep penetration into the nearby sulfur mine. Searchers stopped at regular intervals to call out and were instructed to also look for any evidence that a hiker had left or slipped off the trail. Hundreds of hours have going into multiple searches of all island trails, with assists by the Marine Park boat, the St. Maarten Police Helicopter, the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard, and a rescue dog from St. Maarten.
No physical evidence was found on any of these missions. In the meantime, local police with the assistance of American authorities are checking into Gove's papers, including his credit card charges, to see if any of this information might assist them. A contingent of K-9 trained dogs and their handlers is expected to arrive today, Saturday, to continue the search. The SCF is in charge of the 5-mile square island's extensive trail network and the Saba Marine Park. This trail system is well maintained, mapped, and documentation indicates hiking terrain difficulty.
Saba's trails offer the hiker a mix of paths through heavily forested areas but also along the steep sides of the islands volcanic cliffs, with outstanding sea views. At the time of the disappearance, weather had been rainy, windy, and the seas were rough. On rare occasions, hikers have lost their way or become disoriented on Saba, but this is the first time that a visitor has not been rescued.
Island residents are disturbed about misinformed and inflammatory news reports appearing on the Internet that compare this incident to the Natalie Holloway disappearance in Aruba in 2005.
Photo: Saba Head of Tourism Glenn Holm shows the family's missing hiker poster that was distributed across the island.
Click here for a larger version of the photo.
 Back to community news page.
Story and photograph © Suzanne Nielsen, 2007.
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