Britney Gengel body found in Hotel Montana rubble
By Nick J - Mon Feb 15, 12:50 am
Britney Gengel
The heartbroken parents of Britney Gengel, the 19-year-old Rutland girl missing since an earthquake struck Haiti last month, hugged each other and sobbed yesterday as they announced her body is finally coming home.
“Our hearts are breaking as our souls are full of joy that our beautiful Britney is on her way home,” a sobbing Leonard Gengel read from a prepared statement he and his wife struggled through tears to read aloud.
Gengel, who got the word his daughter was found yesterday, cried as he called Britney his “valentine.”
An aspiring journalist, Britney Gengel was in Port-au-Prince on a three-week humanitarian mission she told her mother would change her life. “We never knew that this trip would change our lives and hersforever,” a tearful Cherylann read.
The Gengels learned yesterday morning that their daughter’s body was found in the rubble of the Hotel Montana, which was leveled by the 7.0 earthquake. “Our worst fear was that she would be in Haiti forever,” Cherylann Gengel told reporters after reading her prepared remarks. “We’re glad to have her here with us.”
The Gengels, surrounded by family and friends and accompanied by Britney’s bulldog, Bruno, spoke to reporters from a porch lit by the Christmas lights Britney loved. Beside them was an enlarged picture of a happy, smiling Britney at a Haitian orphanage just hours before the quake.
Britney Gengel’s body arrived yesterday at a Dover, Del., military mortuary, her father said. A funeral is planned for Saturday. Britney’s body was the last of the six missing students and two professors from Florida’s Lynn University to be recovered, according to spokeswoman Laura Vann.
Yesterday, the Gengels struggled to find a way to thank the tiny Rutland community that supported them through their ordeal, and the politicians and rescue workers who helped find their daughter. “Thank you doesn’t seem like it’s enough,” Cherylann said. “It’s been a comfort for us through this horrible ordeal.”
By Edward Mason
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