Dear
Mr. Funcke,
I
am very appreciative of your diligence and cooperation to assist us in bringing
our loved ones home. Sir, we have been working tirelessly for the past 36 days;
fund raising, speaking to our congressional leaders, and maintaining the attention
of mainstream, so when I received your email, it brought me some hope. We (7
families of the missing men) have in place a website that has gained worldwide
attention and a facebook page, which since it’s inception has had 1,000,000
views. We
have obtained over
4,500 world-wide signatures. We are confident that we will raise 10,000
by the
end of the month. We are touched by the generosity and kindness of
thousands,
thus restoring our hope and faith in humanity. The
world-wide support we’ve received has also reminded us the importance of
man’s
fundamental need to feel safe and secure as many have expressed how
their fathers, uncles son's have either fished in Baja Mexico, or our
avid fishermen.
Recently,
I
was interviewed by our local newspaper, and my mother by our local news
station. We felt it was critical to mention the graciousness and
kindness of
the people in San Felipe in their efforts to help us return our father’s
tackle
box. We have received box loads of letters from strangers and donations
from
those wanting to help the people in San Felipe as a result of learning
about
the safe return of my father’s tackle box through our use of social
media and
mainstream media. Survivors on the Eric; Bruce Marr, Glenn Wong, Craig
Wong,
and Charles Gibson reported to San Francisco Associated Press similarly,
their experiences with the locals in San Felipe and how they'll never
forget the angel wings spread upon them through their selfless acts of
the generosity and care of strangers when they faced
near death experiences. I’d happily provide this information to you to
include
on your website if you are interested.
Since our last correspondence, you mentioned how authorities have informed you on the
estimation of the where the ship is located, with an estimation of the depth at
which rests. I am wondering, if you can obtain this information. In addition, it would be helpful to learn what type of
equipment was used, number of divers, how wide of an area was searched and the
hours expended for the dive (s)? We have asked our own government; State
Department and Department of Defense and they were not able to provide us with
this information.
With
regard to the limitation on the inability to make visual contact with the ship,
thus impeding dive efforts to conduct the deep water search, I am wondering if
it is possible if your government is able to look for funds in various branches
of the Mexican government to partner and bring our loved ones home because we
can not accomplish this without your assistance. We have asked our government
to do the same, but without conclusive findings on the dive your government conducted,
we our left with another reminder of the “unknown,” that continues to plague us.
We
plan on visiting San Felipe in the upcoming weeks. We hope we can personally
thank the locals that have helped the survivors as well as my family. I
respectfully appreciate your time and efforts. I hope to meet
you as well to thank you in person for your guidance and facilitation in this
matter.
With
much appreciation,
Mandi
Lee
(Daughter
of Donald Lee)
