Ofer Israeli's First Report

Our son-in-law, Ofer Israeli, dropped everything in the last week of November and went to Peru to look for Asher. Upon his return, he wrote the following report, which I translated into English:

Greetings to all,

As some of you know, three weeks ago I left unexpectedly to supervise the search for Asher, my wife Eden's brother, who disappeared in Peru in the area of the town of Chivay, which is near the city of Arequipa.

After about two weeks had gone by, and we hadn't heard from him, we began an extensive search for him from Israel, including telephone calls to the hotels and hostels, tourist agencies, and the local police. All efforts to reach Asher were fruitless, and in a decision made at the spur of the moment, I decided to go and supervise the searches for him locally. I was joined by Boaz, his brother, and together we stayed there for about two weeks.

I performed the searches in the area with professional teams from the High Mountain Rescue Squad, whose men specialize in finding and evacuating hikers in the surrounding mountains and canyons. These men worked with me shoulder to shoulder and did an excellent job. The work routine was as follows: I would go out with six men for two days of searches, while the other six rested and gathered strength in Chivay; every two days the teams switched, and I would go out with six fresher men. On the fifth day of searches I would flood the area with twelve men.

The rationale that guided me was to look first on the easier trails and only afterward to expand the search to the more difficult and dangerous routes. This was after I and Asher's sisters, my wife Eden and Hannah, who were in Israel, and his brother Boaz, who was with me in Peru, analyzed Asher's character. We came to the conclusion that Asher would most probably take the easy hiking trail and not risk dangerous or irrational adventures. Nevertheless, after we checked the easy trails, we went out to the harder and more distant ones, which most tourists don't reach.

On the last days of our searches we acted in a more focused way in specific places where an incautious hiker might lose his balance and fall: vertical cliffs over 1,000 meters high that end at the floor of the canyon. Here we descended with ropes over 200 meters long and surveyed at the bottom of the cliff with binoculars.

Additionally, during the days of searching, I frequently made use of a tracking dog to find Asher by means of the used clothing that we took out of his knapsack, which he had left in Arequipa.

During our stay, following the advice of the local people, including the men of the mountain police, we turned to local “wizards.” The locals were absolutely certain that they would be able to help us, and I went along with them and accepted their insistent requests. The experience was unique and even heavenly and greatly increased the assurance of the searchers – I have attached a few photographs that illustrate the rituals that we carried out.

Further searches were made in the vicinity of the town of Chivay and the cliff that surrounds it. This was done in order to eliminate the possibility that he might be found near the town. I finished the last day of searching at 17:00 in the office of the police commander of Arequipa, to whom I made an official report of Asher's disappearance. An hour later I was on a plane to Lima.

The next morning Boaz and I had meetings with several people in Lima. We met with a representative of the Jewish community, who put us in contact with a local private detective agency. After a discussion and consultation with Mr. Yossi Maimon, an Israeli businessman with extensive connections and strong influence in Peru, we decided to hire the detectives. We also met with representatives of the American Embassy to see how they could help us. Pressure was put on the American Embassy by Senator Hillary Clinton by means of influential relatives and members of Boaz' law firm in Washington. We also met with the local Chabad rabbi, Rabbi Hareuveni who promised to help us by turning to local religious leaders.

The situation now is as follows: we left Peru without finding Asher. In the field, four teams are now at work: one is the local mountain police, whose men constantly patrol the area and give me a daily report about the places where they have been, and I bring my map up to date; the local police in Arequipa, who have sent representatives to the place; the private detective agency, mentioned before, has sent two men to the area who are performing an independent investigation (I promised to double their fee if they find Asher, and I hope this is a sufficient incentive for them to search thoroughly); the fourth team in action is a kind of federal police, which sent agents from Lima. My sister Shoshi, who lived in Spain for years, put us in contact with a Spanish billionaire who spoke with the President of Peru, who is now personally involved in the investigation.

Our future expectation is as follows: we all hope that one or more of the four teams that are now in action in the area will manage to find Asher. If not, I will probably go back to perform more searches in the area, possibly next June and July at the end of the semester.

I hope that with this message, in which I have summed up the main points, I have satisfied your curiosity and, most importantly, that I have expressed my personal gratitude as well as that of Eden and our children for the great help that you extended to out family while I was in Peru. I will try to keep you up to date on developments from time to time, hoping that they will be positive.

I am attaching pictures to make things more graphic for you,

With thanks to you all,

Ofer