Slow-Going Search for Missing Hiker

After a grueling search of all possible routes between the mountainous villages of Khira Ghanga and Bunbuny in northern India, rescuers have shifted focus in their mission to find Amichai Shtainmetz, the 24-year-old American-Israeli backpacker who disappeared more than two weeks ago.

Operating under the assumption that the hiker could have made it to his original destination and gotten lost on a return trip through the village of Khalga, teams of professional trackers and volunteers now numbering close to 100 people – including Shtainmetz’s father and sister – are inching their way across strenuous terrain previously surveyed by air. Thus far, no signs of the man have been found, giving rescuers a modicum of hope.

According to Rabbi Levi Pekar, a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical student who with Rabbi Yehuda Kirsch has recruited more than 70 percent of the volunteers, Shtainmetz’s surviving off of the land while trying to find his way back to civilization is a distinct possibility. Although the Chabad House in Manali, several hours away by jeep, has been sending food to volunteers, searchers have opted not to carry provisions with them into the jungle.

“While I was on the search, we couldn’t take it with us when we were searching,” explained Pekar, who is in the region as part of the summer rabbinical visitation program operated by Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. “During the days, when we were hiking 12 hours at a time, we ate wild strawberries and other fruits. I’ve eaten tons of mangoes.

“We saw from this,” he continued by telephone from Manali, “that Amichai, even though he’s been missing for two weeks, could still be alive.”

Article Continued (chabad.org)