MAN IS FOUND AFTER 21 DAYS
By Wameng Moua, Hmong Today
Published Thursday, August 11, 2005
Waa Lee, center in green shirt, is greeted Tuesday by his brother Chia Lee, right, and his sister-in-law Cathy Lee, left, along with several dozen family members, friends and neighbors at his home near 15th Street and Camelot Boulevard. Waa was released from St. Nicholas Hospital for an hour to attend the party in his honor.
While there are mysteries yet to be solved, friends and family members are joyful that 67-year-old Waa Lee was found in relatively good shape after being missing for 21 days.
“We were starting to lose hope,� Mai Lee, a cousin of the man, had told reporters upon his return. “There’s been a lot of stress on the family. This news will put everyone’s mind at ease.�
According to family members, the return of the Waa Lee is all the more miraculous because he suffers from minor mental disorders such as short-term memory loss, a lack of linguistic skills and the inability to use basic tools such as a telephone.
Authorities say Waa Lee had last been seen working on his fence in the backyard at 10 AM on July 18. Family members thought at first that other family members may have picked Waa Lee up, but after 7 PM that evening, they reported him missing when he couldn’t be located.
The Sheboygan-Press reported three days after Waa Lee’s disappearance that a full search had been conducted which included nearly 40 family members, friends, police and fire fighters who searched throughout the area for the man. In addition to the ground-search, the Wisconsin State Patrol had also searched the area with an airplane as well as the Canine Emergency Response Team from Appleton.
Police went as far as to use a computerized telephone system to notify residents of the missing man near Waa Lee’s home. As the search continued, nearly 200 people became involved, sometimes searching through heavy rain, the Sheboygan-Press reported.
“If he goes a couple blocks away from here, he would not be able to come back,� Ber Lee, the family’s spokesman had told authorities upon Waa Lee’s disappearance. “He has lived at this residence for 10 years and never walked away from the house for more than three blocks.�
As hope diminished that Waa Lee could survive through the hottest streak of the summer, nobody reported any sightings of him, increasing the likelihood that he had perished with the heat some where in the deep woods near his home.
Yet, family and friends never stopped searching for the man, expanding the futile search each day.
21-days after Waa Lee was reported missing, two maintenance men found the man crawling in tall grass in a field at the Blackwolf Run Golf Course, a little over two miles away from his home. Authorities described his condition as dehydrated and hungry, but alive.
Waa Lee told his family that he had not eaten during the entire time he was missing. Three weeks ago, he went missing with $41 in his pocket. The same $41 was still in his pocket at the time he was found.
Translated by his cousin Ber Lee, Waa Lee told reporters that he survived in the woods by refilling a plastic bottle he had found with water from a nearby creek. At nights he would cover himself with leaves and branches to protect himself as he rested through the night.
After losing the bottle, Waa Lee explained that he then went onto the golf course to look for water, which is when the men eventually saw him crawling around. “He was scared because he doesn’t speak English,� Ber Lee explained to reporters of his cousin crawling in the grass when he was found.
Recovering mainly from dehydration, physicians at St. Nicholas Hospital allowed Waa Lee to go home for an hour on Tuesday afternoon to join with friends and family as they celebrated his return.
A multi-colored marble cake with the words, “Welcome Home Waa Lee� awaited him as he arrived at his brother’s home. Nearly 50 friends, relatives and neighbors were there to greet him as he made his homecoming.
Waa Lee’s brother, Derrick Lee told reporters that his brother still needs to recover and will require a blood transfusion along with more medical tests, “But when you think about him being gone for 21 days without food, he’s doing good.�
Information provided by the Sheboygan-Press
credit to: HmongToday
By Wameng Moua, Hmong Today
Published Thursday, August 11, 2005
Waa Lee, center in green shirt, is greeted Tuesday by his brother Chia Lee, right, and his sister-in-law Cathy Lee, left, along with several dozen family members, friends and neighbors at his home near 15th Street and Camelot Boulevard. Waa was released from St. Nicholas Hospital for an hour to attend the party in his honor.
While there are mysteries yet to be solved, friends and family members are joyful that 67-year-old Waa Lee was found in relatively good shape after being missing for 21 days.
“We were starting to lose hope,� Mai Lee, a cousin of the man, had told reporters upon his return. “There’s been a lot of stress on the family. This news will put everyone’s mind at ease.�
According to family members, the return of the Waa Lee is all the more miraculous because he suffers from minor mental disorders such as short-term memory loss, a lack of linguistic skills and the inability to use basic tools such as a telephone.
Authorities say Waa Lee had last been seen working on his fence in the backyard at 10 AM on July 18. Family members thought at first that other family members may have picked Waa Lee up, but after 7 PM that evening, they reported him missing when he couldn’t be located.
The Sheboygan-Press reported three days after Waa Lee’s disappearance that a full search had been conducted which included nearly 40 family members, friends, police and fire fighters who searched throughout the area for the man. In addition to the ground-search, the Wisconsin State Patrol had also searched the area with an airplane as well as the Canine Emergency Response Team from Appleton.
Police went as far as to use a computerized telephone system to notify residents of the missing man near Waa Lee’s home. As the search continued, nearly 200 people became involved, sometimes searching through heavy rain, the Sheboygan-Press reported.
“If he goes a couple blocks away from here, he would not be able to come back,� Ber Lee, the family’s spokesman had told authorities upon Waa Lee’s disappearance. “He has lived at this residence for 10 years and never walked away from the house for more than three blocks.�
As hope diminished that Waa Lee could survive through the hottest streak of the summer, nobody reported any sightings of him, increasing the likelihood that he had perished with the heat some where in the deep woods near his home.
Yet, family and friends never stopped searching for the man, expanding the futile search each day.
21-days after Waa Lee was reported missing, two maintenance men found the man crawling in tall grass in a field at the Blackwolf Run Golf Course, a little over two miles away from his home. Authorities described his condition as dehydrated and hungry, but alive.
Waa Lee told his family that he had not eaten during the entire time he was missing. Three weeks ago, he went missing with $41 in his pocket. The same $41 was still in his pocket at the time he was found.
Translated by his cousin Ber Lee, Waa Lee told reporters that he survived in the woods by refilling a plastic bottle he had found with water from a nearby creek. At nights he would cover himself with leaves and branches to protect himself as he rested through the night.
After losing the bottle, Waa Lee explained that he then went onto the golf course to look for water, which is when the men eventually saw him crawling around. “He was scared because he doesn’t speak English,� Ber Lee explained to reporters of his cousin crawling in the grass when he was found.
Recovering mainly from dehydration, physicians at St. Nicholas Hospital allowed Waa Lee to go home for an hour on Tuesday afternoon to join with friends and family as they celebrated his return.
A multi-colored marble cake with the words, “Welcome Home Waa Lee� awaited him as he arrived at his brother’s home. Nearly 50 friends, relatives and neighbors were there to greet him as he made his homecoming.
Waa Lee’s brother, Derrick Lee told reporters that his brother still needs to recover and will require a blood transfusion along with more medical tests, “But when you think about him being gone for 21 days without food, he’s doing good.�
Information provided by the Sheboygan-Press
credit to: HmongToday
