The Search

Thank you so much for your support during the past year as we have searched for answers regarding Daniel and Janelle’s disappearance. You have supported us financially, enabling us to do so much more than we could have done on our own. In fact, it was a significant donation that encouraged us to get started and launch the t-shirt campaign and subsequent search. You have also held us, our families, and the entire situation up to God in prayer. We are confident God has been leading, and continues to do so, even though we don’t understand the reasons why or difficulties along the way.

 Our goal all along has been to follow any reasonable leads which may indicate Daniel and Janelle are still alive. In late November and early December, we were in contact with an FBI agent from the counterterrorism task force for the region including the Philippines. He listened to our concerns and information that suggested Daniel and Janelle might be out there. He said he would look into it from his end and get back to us. Within about 2 weeks, he called back and said he was confident of two things based on his resources: First, that the helicopter did crash in the water while on course, and second, that there were no American hostages being held in that region. He said he couldn’t disclose specific steps he had taken to reach these conclusions. The agent said if we did find any concrete evidence showing proof-of-life then the Government would actively get involved with search and/or rescue. He didn’t believe this was likely.

 At the time, we were actively pursuing reports suggesting they were being held captive in the region, and felt it was worth continuing to follow these leads. Perhaps the helicopter did crash, but survivors were taken captive after the crash, and were being moved in circles unknown to FBI connections. Reports indicated meeting a white woman along a specific path who could have matched Janelle’s description. Other reports claimed people were being held by a specific extended family group. We heard in late December that this group planned to move to Vietnam for fishing and attempted to watch them load their vessel in order to see who was onboard. By the time the vessel was located, it was already loaded and near departure. We were able to track the vessel on occasion, and were told it was in a harbor in Vietnam several times at predictable intervals. We were able to position a drone and pilot in the area, but attempts to get video footage of the vessel and identify people on deck were not successful, as the vessel did not return to that location. We have not identified it since and no longer have tracking capabilities for the vessel. For some time, many things suggested we were close, but each one turned up empty. It’s possible that offering rewards for evidence generated false leads from people hoping they could collect money for false reports. (Please note that rewards were not paid without solid evidence, which did not materialize.) Our most promising lead was a set of nurse’s scrubs found hanging on a clothesline in the location where the group was departing for Vietnam. These scrubs were collected and mailed back to the US for planned DNA testing, but the package was lost in the mail and did not arrive. At this time, we have not found anything conclusive. All tips and leads have dried up, with nothing new for many months. There appears to be nothing more to follow.

About three weeks ago we spoke with an acquaintance of ours who works for the FBI. He stated that he had been exposed to Janelle’s case, and since he knew our family, followed up on it further. He was able to review the work of the agent with whom we spoke in November and December and said he had a high Update from the Alder family regarding the search for Daniel and Janelle – August 2025 – Page 2 confidence in both the agent and the specific work on our case. Our friend also indicated he could not give us any details, but believed the work was accurate and thorough and wanted us to have confidence in it. This, combined with the lack of fresh tips or leads and with our inability to identify any concrete evidence of Janelle and Daniel, leads us to believe we are at the end of our search. Many of you have given sacrificially to support this search. Please know it was not only your money that was spent. About half of the money spent was donor funds, and the other half was our personal funds.

Every decision we made was based as if it was our money being spent. We did not want to ever hear “Daddy, why didn’t you look, why didn’t you follow those reports?” The search has not revealed anything conclusive, but now we know we’ve tried our best. While there are still many unanswered questions, we do not believe it is worthwhile to keep actively searching at this time. Thank you so much for your support. We would not have accomplished this on our own. We do not understand why God allowed this to happen, however, we recognize that God is in control and believe we will have answers someday. Until then, we will keep doing our best to follow – to do our part – and trust Him to continue doing His part.

 Mark and Cheryl Alder

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