Search continues in Bolivia for Notre Dame graduate
By TIM LOGAN
Senior Staff Writer
Rescue officials are still searching for Walter Poirier, a 2000 Notre Dame graduate who disappeared in Bolivia in February.
Poirier, who is volunteering in the Peace Corps, was last seen around Feb. 22 in La Paz, the nation's capital. He was reported missing on March 5, after he had not been in contact with his supervisor for several weeks, according to Peace Corps spokeswoman Susan Buchanan. Peace Corps volunteers, U. S. State Department officials and Bolivian rescue workers have been looking for him ever since.
"The search continues, and it's as intense as it was when we started," Buchanan said.
Poirier worked developing eco-tourism in the Bolivia's Zongo Valley. He had to trek between several villages in the mountainous region and La Paz.
"He was sort of in an unusual situation, traveling between three residences and six communities," Buchanan said. "That makes it a little more difficult to track his movements."
Search teams have been scouring the Valley, looking on mountains and trails where they think Poirier might have traveled. The U.S. Embassy in La Paz is coordinating the effort, with help from the Peace Corps and Bolivian government organizations.
Because of Poirier's travel schedule and the remoteness of some of his posts, there have in the past been two-week stretches when no one would hear from him, Buchanan said. But this has gone on longer than that, and she said searchers do not have any good leads on his whereabouts.
"They haven't been able to find any tangible information about him," Buchanan said.
Peace Corps volunteers receive three months of intensive training in language and cultural skills needed to live in their country of placement.
They are also trained in safety and security measures, Buchanan said.
While no one has seen Poirier for nearly a month, the Peace Corps is still optimistic that he will turn up.
"We remain hopeful that he's there in Bolivia and that he's safe," Buchanan said.
All News Stories for Thursday, March 22, 2001
