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Thursday, April 19, 2007
Police seeking local resident in Campbell’s death
MANILA (Updated 2:30 p.m.)-- Police are looking for a man who may have been involved in the death of a US Peace Corps volunteer after a witness claimed he saw a man in the area of the shallow grave in Banaue township where the body was found on Wednesday.
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The US Embassy is also saddened to confirm that the body found in Battad Wednesday was indeed of US Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell, who disappeared on April 8 while hiking in Banaue, Ifugao Province, Northern Luzon.
Search parties discovered Campbell’s body near Barangay Batad, Banaue town Wednesday morning. Government authorities will make the final pronouncement of cause of death.
Campbell’s remains was airlifted to Manila Thursday morning from Banaue.
A local official said the witness was a 13-year-old boy and the man a known resident of Battad village, where Campbell was last seen April 8.
The man rushed down to a dry creek when he realized the boy had spotted him, municipal council member Jun Addug said after speaking with the teenager.
The boy, who did not see Campbell, later saw the same man going back up to the trail, Addug told The Associated Press by telephone from Banaue.
The man has been missing since, Addug said.
President Gloria Magapagal Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said the government was cooperating with US officials in the investigation.
"It is unfortunate that a committed and selfless person who has ... obviously grown to love our country met a tragic end here," Bunye said in a statement.
Soldiers searching for Campbell - a freelance journalist who had reported for The New York Times and other media organizations - found one of her feet sticking out from the shallow grave in the dry mountain creek in Banaue, famed for its mountainside rice terraces, a World Heritage site.
Army Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang said soldiers reported the body was covered with soil, gravel and grass.
Campbell's body was flown to Manila for an autopsy. The US Embassy said the Philippine government will disclose the cause of death.
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter said Campbell, who was among 137 volunteers currently in the Philippines, "contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens."
"Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens," Tschetter said in a statement. He described her as "a dedicated and vibrant volunteer, who so loved this country."
He had traveled to the Philippines to join the search for Campbell, and he praised the local police effort to find her as "incredible."
In a statement, Campbell's family in Fairfax, Virginia, said she "lived a very full life."
"She loved her family and friends and is much loved. She was passionate in her journalism reporting especially the stories involving people who were able to stand and address adversity or adverse situations," the statement said.
"We have every confidence that the US and Philippine authorities are conducting a thorough investigation into Julia's untimely death."
Campbell had been teaching English at the Divine Word College in Albay province's Legazpi city, southeast of Manila, since October 2006.
She also helped launch an ecology awareness campaign and build an Eco Center in Donsol in Sorsogon province, which has been attracting tourists to watch the whale sharks that visit the fishing town in December-June.For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (April 19, 2007 issue)
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