Thread: US Student Disappears in Thailand

US Student Disappears in Thailand


By GABRIEL FALCON
, CNN
posted: 3 HOURS 40 MINUTES AGO
comments: 68
filed under: National News, World News




(July 29) - An international search is under way for a 29-year-old Auburn University veterinary student who vanished under what appears to be unusual circumstances in Thailand.
The family of Michael Griffin Harrie is pleading for help in locating him. "We just don't know what happened to him," Paul Harrie told CNN about his missing son. "I now know the meaning of living a nightmare."
Skip over this content Auburn University / AP
Michael Griffin Harrie, a veterinary student at Auburn University in Alabama, disappeared while on vacation in Thailand.



In a media release, Alabama's Auburn University said Harrie, a second-year student at the veterinary school, was attending a summer study abroad program in Morioka, Japan. He informed a professor he was going to take a one-week vacation with friends to Bangkok, Thailand, that would begin on July 7.
"He said he would be back on the 14th," his father explained. But Harrie never returned to his studies. And when he failed to meet up with his parents in Tokyo on July 16, they reported him missing.
The investigation into Harrie's disappearance is being led by Bangkok police. The American Embassy in Thailand has also been notified, and Auburn University has dispatched two representatives to Japan.
"The role there is to provide assistance to the family," Auburn University communication director Michael Clardy told CNN.
The best clues to finding Harrie appear on video.
Harrie's father, who hired a private detective agency to assist in the search, said surveillance tape from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on July 14 shows his son entering the airport but then exiting the terminal before checking in for his flight. Why would he suddenly turn around and leave remains a mystery.
Efforts to track him through automated bank transactions also add to the complexity.
His father said his son stopped withdrawing money out of ATM machines a day earlier, on July 13.
While his family calls Harrie an avid traveler, Paul Harrie said his son's behavior is out of character.
"The idea of picking up and not telling anyone is very unlike him. He likes to explore areas but always under some sort of controlled circumstances so we know where he is going. The concern is he didn't tell anybody where he was going," he said.
The worry was heightened on Tuesday because Harrie was not on his scheduled flight home to the United States where his veterinary school training was to resume in the fall. His family, desperate for answers, has a message they hope will reach their missing loved one.
"If anybody sees him, please ask him to contact us," Paul Harrie said. "We love him, and we are worried sick about him."
Michael Harrie is from the San Francisco, California, area. He has blue eyes and brown hair, wears eyeglasses and is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. The Auburn University Department of Public Safety and Security is asking for anyone with any information on his whereabouts to call at 334-844-8888.

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2009-07-29 1613
Auburn Student Michael Harrie Missing in Thailand

Be kind of hard to recognize face down floating in a Klong.

Originally Posted by venturalaw

Bangkok police. The American Embassy in Thailand has also been notified,

That's gonna help loads eh???!!!!! kin khao yang??
and the effort the embassy will make is

Originally Posted by blackgang

Be kind of hard to recognize face down floating in a Klong.

That's not nice Blackgang...his folks maybe reading this... more likely he has got his face stuck somewhere.....

and can't for the life of him remember why he was going to be Vet in the first place...( I hope for his families sake that it's the latter...and not what you said BG..
as I'm sure he'd be on You tube and Thai TV with everyone pointing at him.

Strange, indeed. 29 is not that young, and it was only a 1-week holiday.

He was going to meet up with friends. Who are they? What do they have to say?

Had he been to LOS before?

Was going to meet up with some friends...huh?

Looking into his computer-emails and sms records....should be the good places to start.. me thinks here

surveillance tape from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on July 14 shows his son entering the airport but then exiting the terminal before checking in for his flight.

Second thoughts about leaving his new love?
I reckon he's holed up somewhere banging himself stupid.

Originally Posted by Dug

Second thoughts about leaving his new love? I reckon he's holed up somewhere banging himself stupid.

Originally Posted by venturalaw

a veterinary student at Auburn University in Alabama

Alabama veterinary student - so it won't be a woman then

Originally Posted by Dug

surveillance tape from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on July 14 shows his son entering the airport but then exiting the terminal before checking in for his flight.

Second thoughts about leaving his new love?
I reckon he's holed up somewhere banging himself stupid.

That's what I thought, except he hasn't withdrawn from his ATM since the day before going to the airport.

Who knows how much money he took out of his account? He could have emptied it, or taken enough cash to last. Maybe he met someone and went up the homestead in Isaan.

Too much info is missing -- friends, where he was going to stay, visit, etc. Had some bad words with the taxi driver from the airport?

Hope the kid is OK, and just keeping his wick wet.

Originally Posted by Smithson

That's what I thought, except he hasn't withdrawn from his ATM since the day before going to the airport.

Or maybe he's met a rich bird...who wants to impress him and get married for the green card!!!

Again...what am I thinking..

Originally Posted by killerbees

Who knows how much money he took out of his account? He could have emptied it, or taken enough cash to last. Maybe he met someone and went up the homestead in Isaan.

If I had to take a punt on it, that would be my first guess also. Doesnt exclude foul play though.
The airport surveylance showed him walking back outside after checking in. Seems to indicate he had second thoughts about leaving unless he just went out for a smoke?

Shoplifting at KP and held in a motel? Lets hope he turns up safe and sound wherever he went.

The Embassy has been notified, yeah right. If Disney or some other greedy corporation is being cheated out of royalty payments on dvd's or designer handbags, the American Government is ready to help. The rest of us can die for all they care.

^ True. I had reg contacts with the US, UK and Cdn consuls when I was in Thailand. The English Consul rang me one day to ask about a citizen whose family had been searching for him for a few years. She knew that I knew the guy. I said, I'd let him know about it, but refused to give his wherabouts. The man did not want any contact with his family. Told the Consul, who then rang me back to get more info and try again. Errm, NO! He had no record.

Anyway, this student doesn't seem the type to take off. He also seems the type to make plans and tell someone.

According to thaivisa.com as of this afternoon: "Please be informed that we have traced Michael and he has now left the Kingdom of Thailand." No other details available. It was written by somebody from the firm investigating his disappearance.

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Anyway, this student doesn't seem the type to take off. He also seems the type to make plans and tell someone.

Humans, especially those having led a sheltered life, are weird when they are exposed to a 'less sheltered' environment for the first time -- ref.: catholic school girls, for example.

If the parents of Michael are reading this forum I can imagine the incredible pain and worry that you are experiencing and sincerely hope your son is found safe and sound.

Young men his age have been known to disappear on occassions and just as quickly they reappear after some time spent up country where communication with the outside world is limited.

Again stay strong and I hope good news comes your way in the near future.

^ ^ Dude, the kid was found.

Where the hell had he been!!! he left of his own free will???? what does that mean??? wer the Thai's keeping him for a keepsake???