Laura Vogel

Laura Vogel
Disappeared from Ha'iku, Maui 2/21/10

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Celebrating Earth Day in Laura's Honor

Today, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, is a great day for acts of environmental stewardship in Laura's honor. It's also a great day to join the Laura's Legacy group at Kanu Hawaii, where you can join others in making commitments in Laura's honor to daily actions that protect the environment, such as recycling, taking reusable bags to the grocery store, or drinking from reusable water bottles. The more people who register their commitments with the simple click of a mouse, the better we can track Laura's positive impact on our beloved planet.

Recent media coverage of Laura's disappearance includes an interview with Laura's mother on Albuquerque's KQRE and an interview with Laura's brother Tim on the Ron and Don Show on Seattle's 97.3 KIRO FM Radio. The segment about Laura runs from about 5 1/2 minutes to about 18 1/2 minutes into the show.

The investigation into Laura's disappearance continues on multiple fronts. Search dogs have been engaged again, volunteers continue to do ground searches, and the police are still pursuing leads.

A racquetball tournament was held on Saturday, April 17th in Las Cruces, NM at Tom Young's Fitness Center and Racquetball Club and raised over $500 for the Find Laura Vogel fund. Thanks to everyone who participated and contributed!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Letter of Thanks

THANK YOU ALL
FROM THE VOGEL FAMILY

This letter is to the 4,100 people who have posted messages on the Find Laura Vogel Facebook page, to the 7,600 who have visited the blogspot site, to the myriads of people who have set up fundraising events, to the people who have sent in tips to the gmail account and the police tip line, to the people who have organized candlelight vigils in her honor, to the hundreds who have made donations large and small to help us search for Laura, to the dozens who have sent us good wishes and remembrances and to the millions of prayers that have been said and are still being said for Laura and our family. By this first sentence alone you can see just how overwhelmed our family is by the response, not only of the people of Maui, but by the whole nation (world). We wish we could contact each and every one of you personally to say “Thank You”!

We know that many of you who do not live on Maui felt helpless while Laura’s friends and family were searching the areas where she went missing. But you did help. You helped by setting up and manning the Facebook and Blogspot and gmail sites on the internet. You helped by starting “LauraLights” and by adding Laura’s Legacy to the Kanu Hawaii web page. You helped through your fundraising, through your vigils, through your postings about your memories of times spent with Laura, by babysitting our sons, by house sitting while we were away, by filling in for us in our jobs. You helped by hugging trees, by hiking in Laura’s name and by showing your appreciation of nature. You helped in so many ways, not the least of which was through the prayers, love, and good wishes you sent our way.

By your responses you showed us what great effect Laura’s bright smile and fun loving personality had on everyone she met. And as you all know she was more than that. In her great delight in the world around her as teacher, hiker, camper, surfer, birder, stargazer, biologist, ecologist, sister, and daughter, she taught us that we need to protect our environment and everyone and everything in it. In her classrooms, which she designated as “safe zones,” she demonstrated to her students that we must respect and protect each other, regardless of who or what we are. Her students respected that attitude, and it is one reason why they have written that she was the best teacher they ever had.

Our hope is that by her example, Laura continues to teach us how to be good to each other and our surroundings. In New Mexico she gave of her free time to the New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors, Albuquerque Wildlife Federation and Wild Earth Guardians. In Hawaii she volunteered time to the Reef Teach Organization. She planted organic gardens, followed a vegetarian diet, and spoke to everyone about the need to be good stewards of God’s creation. You can honor Laura by embracing some of these same ideals in your own lives.

Thank you all for what you have done to help. It means a great deal to us, Laura’s family.

The Vogels

Monday, April 12, 2010

Valiant Volunteers Search On

Many thanks to U.S. Airforce Sargent Gates and Marine Sargent Denz-Marrs, who led a team of recruits yesterday in searching several strategic locations for signs of Laura. The plan is to follow up with a search dog today. The Vogel family is extremely grateful to this dedicated group and to everyone who has helped with search efforts thus far.

If you are wondering how you might show your support for Laura, please consider joining the Laura's Legacy group at Kanu Hawaii and making one or two commitments to caring for the environment in Laura's honor. If we publicly commit to daily acts of care (such as recycling), we can actually track Laura's positive impact on the world. To date, we have collectively committed to keep over 2 tons of trash out of our waste stream. It only takes a minute to join and a second to click on a commitment.

The family is still offering a $10,000 reward for information leading them to find Laura Vogel. If you have any knowledge of where she might be, please e-mail findlauravogel@gmail.com or call any of these numbers:
Fans of the Find Laura Vogel Facebook Page number over 4100, and visitors to this blog have surpassed 7500.

Mahalo, everyone, for your sustained interest in finding Laura!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Celebrating Laura

Here are a few updates on how Laura is being celebrated:

The slide show on the Tributes to Laura page of this blog includes some beautiful new photos of Laura.

A recent Maui Weekly article profiles Laura and the positive impact she's had on those around her: Maui Searches for Laura Vogel.

The Laura's Legacy group at Kanu Hawaii is growing. Please join us in honoring Laura through our commitments to the environment and each other.

Laura's family remains committed to finding answers about what happened to her. The police are still investigating but cannot yet release any more information without risk of compromising the investigation. Anyone who knows anything about what happened at the Pauwela Lighthouse on February 21st is urged to share it through any of these channels:
  • Maui Police: 808-244-6400 (Case #10-14126)
  • Anonymous tip lines:
    • Maui Crime Stoppers: 808-242-6966
    • Private Tip Line: 888-524-0218
  • Private e-mail: findlauravogel@gmail.com
Mahalo!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Laura's Legacy

As a passionate educator and environmentalist, Laura has created a legacy of care through both words and actions. Laura's friends, family, and supporters continue to share inspiring testimony about her positive influence on their lives. As many have attested, Laura's sustained commitment to appreciating and protecting our environment is especially powerful.

In honor of Laura, please consider joining the Laura's Legacy group at Kanu Hawaii. Kanu Hawaii is a nonprofit grassroots organization with a mission to "pursue a vision of a better Hawaii" through "island-style activism," in which participants practice Gandhi's call to "be the change we wish to see in the world." An embodiment of Laura's values, "Kanu Hawaii is a movement of people drawing on island strengths to make Hawaii a model of environmental sustainability, economic resilience and compassionate community." With the click of a mouse, you can join others in making commitments to tangible actions that will have a measurable positive impact on Hawaii and the rest of the planet. For example, 2281 people to date have committed to "using a reusable water bottle and not buying bottled water." Such efforts can keep Laura's legacy present in our daily lives and help to spread it far and wide by raising consciousness and putting Laura's ideals into action. If all of Laura's fans made just a commitment or two in her honor, our impact would be significant.

In the meantime, the investigation into Laura's disappearance continues. If you live on Maui, please consider posting and/or distributing the latest Laura Vogel MISSING poster in local shops, libraries, parks, and other public places.

Mahalo, everyone!