Rotten Mango - #312: Help Us Find Nancy - 12 Went To Yoga Retreat Only 11 Returned & Nobody Will Tell What Happened

Episode Date: November 12, 2023

The yoga retreat was supposed to be a week of relaxation, connecting with nature, and peace. It was going to be held at the beautiful volcanic Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. 12 people were going to be at the week-long retreat together. Eating together, doing yoga together, hiking together - till one of them goes missing. The mysterious circumstances surrounding Nancy’s disappearance still have no answers. Where and how did she go missing? Why did the 11 others fly home within hours of her disappearance? And why are they not being more cooperative with the authorities? Are they hiding something? And most importantly - where is Nancy? Help Us Find Nancy GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-find-nancy-and-support-the-ng-family Help Us Find Nancy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpusfindnancy Help Us Find Nancy WhatsApp: [phone]   Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bramble. Butterbean Butterboot. There is a lake in Guatemala called Lake Atitlan. It's like straight in the heart of the Guatemalan Highlands. I saw a few videos of the lake online. It's a beautiful lake. Some people on TikTok even call it the Lake Como of Central America. Some parts of the lake have this really incredible turquoise hue to the water.

Other parts have this cool, cold, slate, blue water color, but it's equally stunning. And it's really what's around the lake that makes it what it is. There are three dormant volcanoes. The lake is surrounded by steep hills and all these colorful small towns on the edges of the lake. The lake is home primarily to multiple different indigenous communities. and each little town has their own culture, their own personality, and it's just so diverse. So naturally, it's become a bit of a tourist spot.

People who have gone to visit Lake Atitlan said, it's one of the best places in Central America to just relax and enjoy nature. The philosopher that wrote Brave New World, he called it the most beautiful lake in the whole world. October 2023, a group of 12 mostly Americans traveled to Lake Atitlan for a yoga retreat. It was going to be a full week of reflection, tranquility, peace, a time to find calmness not only with themselves, but with nature and with each other.

That is, until one of them goes missing. October 19th, 2023, a 29-year-old woman from California, Nancy Ying, disappears from the yoga retreat. This case is gaining a lot of traction online because there are so many curious details about her disappearance. lot of traction online because there are so many curious details about her disappearance. It was claimed that one of the retreat goers went kayaking with Nancy and saw her drown. But curiously, that statement was nowhere to be found in the official police report from Guatemala. The prosecutor's office is still trying to get in touch with that witness. But even more curious than that, at least to me, is that Nancy was not reported missing

by the 11 people at the Yoga Retreat with her till 24 hours later. And nothing really makes sense. First, the Yoga Retreat organizer told the family that the incident was reported the same day, but the record indicated that it was reported 24 hours later. Nancy's family tried to reach out to the woman who was with Nancy during this quote incident, but she will not speak to the family. She has since gone silent while the family

is desperately searching for their missing daughter. Second, it's been stated that 95% of the lake has been searched and Nancy's body has yet to be found. So if the witness statement were true and she drowned after a swim, where is her body? Third, if the witness statement were true and she drowned after a swim, why would she and the others at the yoga retreat wait 24 hours before reporting it to the police? But more importantly, is that if that truly happened, why are there more questions than answers?

Why did they come back to the US early? Why are they not being more forthcoming about what they saw or what they heard? Nancy's family, they just want to bring Nancy home. They just want some answers. Why would they all not want the same thing? And the most pressing questions are, what really happened on the lake?

And where is Nancy? As always, full show notes are available at Rod and MinglePodcast.com. I was able to speak with Nikki and Jonathan. They are two of Nancy siblings. I just wanted to get a bit more insight on Nancy. And I do want to make it very, very clear right now that I do not represent the family. I do not represent their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and or wishes. Our team had already finished most of our research going into the conversation.

We just used the call to really get to know Nancy a bit better, to see how we could be of use to the family and to clarify any small questions that we had. This is currently an ongoing investigation. There is currently a privately funded search and rescue mission. And since there are a lot of parties, 11, maybe more, that could potentially have information on this case, we try to steer clear of asking the family about the investigation itself.

Just because we know that when there's an ongoing investigation, it's very sensitive. It's very important that the family don't share too much of the investigation if it could potentially hinder the process. So again, any thoughts, speculations, feeling statements are not made on behalf of the investigation if it could potentially hinder the process. So again, any thoughts, speculations, feelings, statements are not made on behalf of the family. They are our own conclusions and feelings formulated from our team's independent research. So with that being said, Nancy is missing.

This is an ongoing case. And the family hopes that we, not just as an RM, but you guys as well, can help get the word out there because someone must know something. I mean, someone might know someone who knows something and I know to a lot of people that might seem like a long shot, but a lot of people have been found because of word of mouth and spreading awareness. And they humbly ask that if you guys have even a moment of time, if you could help in any way possible, they would be forever grateful.

Another way that we can all help is the family has set up a go fund me. The Guatemala authorities have stopped their search after 72 hours, so now everything is being privately funded by the family. Even a little bit goes a long way, and if you're not in the position to help in that way, you can still spread Nancy's missing persons posters, reach out to anyone you might know in Guatemala, and I'm gonna leave all the links to that below and we're gonna go in depth through it later in the video.

So with that being said, let's get into it. There are a lot of yoga retreats near Lake Atitlan. I didn't know this, but from what we can tell from our research, yoga tourism has gotten very big in Guatemala, especially near the lake. The indigenous populations in towns near the lake are Maya. A lot of the Maya religious practices seem to resonate with a lot of yoga enthusiasts. They're based on the spirit and the body being interconnected and to heal the body you

have to heal the spirit and vice versa. And side note, that's not to say that a lot of the people running and leading the Yoga retreats are Maya. It just seems like a lot of them aren't, if I'm being honest with you, but maybe they learn from the locals. I do see some comments of like, what? Yoga retreat and Lake Atitlan? Like that sounds scary.

It honestly seems beautiful from the videos that I've seen. A lot of the Yoga retreats near Lake Atitlan are all inclusive. So you go, they'll pick you up from the airport, drive you to the resort, where you stay from anywhere between three days a week to even a month. And every single day there's an itinerary. It's typically very packed. Of course most of the day is focused on yoga, meditation, detailed afternoon writing workshops. There are some retreats meditation, detailed afternoon writing workshops. There are some retreats that will focus on cooking workshops. There's ones that heavily focus on only eating vegetarian food.

Others that emphasize drinking water a lot. I was down this rabbit hole of a retreat that was very focused on how their drinking water is from the river that runs through the property and nothing else. There's almost a yoga retreat for everyone near the lake. Some focus on beginner yoga, meditation. Others get a little bit more intense. They do breath work. They go out to hike. They go into the indigenous towns to explore. Others are super workout focused.

So it's not just yoga. They're like we're doing hiking, kayaking. Some of them even do 200 hour training courses so you can become your own certified yoga teacher. And a lot of foreigners go to these retreats, and specifically, it seems like a lot of Americans frequent these retreats. It appears and don't quote me on this because we didn't ask the family about this, but just from what we could gather from our research, it seems like most of the people in Nancy's group for the week-long retreat were either American citizens or they reside in the US. 29-year-old Nancy had gone to the same exact retreat with the same exact instructor last

year. So this would be her second time this year going. And she thought it was beautiful, you know, she fell in love and I'm sure there is that feeling of, I've already been before, so it feels a little bit safer to go. Like I already know what to expect, I know who kind of people are going to be there, I've already been before, so it feels a little bit safer to go. Like I already know what to expect. I know what kind of people are gonna be there. I know the feeling, so maybe it's nicer to go again this year. And I imagine a lot of the week

was supposed to be focused on yoga itself and nature, but also maybe on, because yoga is not just a physical practice, maybe they focus a lot on the principles of yoga. So from what I could find, the principles of yoga that people abide by, it does differ depending on which type of yoga you practice, but there are a few core principles that it seems almost all of them follow. Self-discipline and commitment. Yoga is about having that discipline within yourself

to take control of the environment and your state of mind, Ahimza, which is non-violence. It means non-harming, it means kindness, compassion. It's kind of the feeling of karma. What you give out is what you get back. And satya, this one is emphasized in most yoga principles that I could find, which is truthfulness. Not just with yourself, but with the world, with everyone around you, with nature.

Yoga enthusiasts place a lot of importance on not causing harm to themselves or to others or to nature. They live by the rules of living life led by compassion and truthfulness. But when Nancy goes missing mysteriously, the 11 people that were at the retreat with her, they have returned to the US, and many of them have left a lot of questions unanswered. If you're watching the video,

you can tell that it's completely a different day, but if you're just listening to the audio, as I was editing, there was an update on this case. The owners of the kayak company that was allegedly used by Nancy and the tour group stated that the group rented kayaks, went out into the water the day that Nancy went missing. And then when they came back, Nancy was not with them. The owners also stated, no one in the group was interested

in talking to anybody. No one in the group was interested in talking to anybody. The owners of the kayak rental company stated that the group failed to pay for the kayaks. The yoga retreat that they were on was not supposed to end, but they left early within 12 hours. So does that mean they left 8-12 hours after Nancy's disappearance, arrived in the US, then reported to the authorities that Nancy was missing? The Guatemala's Attorney General's Office, according to Good Morning America, has also stated

that they haven't been able to interview the woman who was with Nancy or the tour guide because the group left the country. They requested international assistance to help speak with them, but they are still waiting to hear back. Nikki, Nancy's younger sister, she was at a bakery when she got the call. And it was from her dad. He called to tell her that she needed to come home immediately and he was going to meet her at her place. He was very vague with the phone call.

He didn't tell her much else. Just that something had happened and he sounded very, very serious. The whole family rushes to be together at Nikki's place, and their dad rushes in through the door and starts trying to explain everything. He's explaining that he had received a cryptic call from someone at the Yoga Retreat that Nancy was at, and it felt like it was implied that Nancy was not coming back. And he's trying to explain it because he doesn't really have a lot of details or information, so he's confused.

He's like, I don't really know what's going on. We don't know the exact conversation from the call, but the call itself has been described to have been very cryptic. And to the family, none of this was making sense. To show you how little sense it made, Nikki's initial thought was, oh, that's so weird. She loves it so much that she wants to live there. Like that's not really like her. But no big deal.

It's probably a passing thought. We'll just talk to her. The kids, Nancy's three siblings that are all in their 20s. They decide, we'll just call the number. Maybe we'll get more details. But when they get in contact with the person from the retreat, it was what I would personally describe a strange. I mean, this whole situation is strange, right?

Even with their call, they're still not getting answers. So no one out of the 11 others at the retreat, none of them were giving the family the answers that they were looking for. And that's not implying that all 11 of them are hiding something. Some of them have actually reached out to the family to offer their help and assistance. And that's great, but the family still needs answers. The caller specified that Nancy went missing in the water, but that they did not witness the incident themselves

so they could not provide a firsthand account of what happened. Guatemala authorities allocate 72 hours to search for missing people. Three days. Once that time period is over, it was up for the family to pay for search and rescue efforts if they wanted to find Nancy. And all they had was a video. All they had is this video and it was the last-known video taken of Nancy. It was shared with Nancy's family and the search and rescue teams. It shows Nancy waving at the camera while kayaking near the shore on October 19th before she

vanished. It's not really the strongest lead, but it's something, it's anything. So they start searching. Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America. Naturally makes it a very difficult lake to search. There are three volcanoes surrounding the lake. All of them are currently dormant, which just to clarify, because that makes it sound a little dangerous. But for a volcano to be considered extinct instead of dormant, they have to have had no eruptions in the past 10,000 to 1 million years.

But the lake is deep. And from what we can gather, the lake can go as deep as 1,115 feet in some parts. That's about 103 stories or the height of the Empire State Building. The water can be very murky in certain areas and this is the only lead that Nancy's family has. The lake. Like that's it. And I think the frustrating part is if someone could tell them a more exact location pinpoint where on the lake Nancy was last seen, if she was even on the lake that is, they could laser focus their search with that information. I mean, that could mean the world of a difference when it comes to bringing Nancy home. It just doesn't make sense why someone or maybe even a group of people don't seem to

want to help in that regard. But again, these are just my personal opinions and I digress. After the Guatemalan search was called off, the family can't just sit around. They have to find Nancy. So, they get in contact with black wolf helicopters. It's a company that does a lot of search and rescue missions. They were also the first Guatemalan company accepted by the Alliance of Helicopter Specialists of Central and South America.

They were going to cover a large portion of the air search, so searching the lake from above. Nancy's family knew it was a long shot, but they had no other choice. They went online and they asked for any volunteer divers in Guatemala to help, or people who had a boat, or even people who just knew how to operate a boat, or honestly, anyone who just had an hour to spare. They were forever grateful for any volunteers

and people showed up. They showed up and they got to work. And they have been going at it for weeks. And at this point, they have searched about 95% of the lake by air, land, and a bit of the water. They've searched with divers, drones, helicopters, boat crews. And I think a lot of netizens are starting to question if Nancy was even in the water. Chris Sharp, the owner of Black Wolf Helicopters, stated that the primary witnesses, the people who may have been with Nancy the day that she disappeared, have not been forthcoming with the investigation, making things more difficult, more complicated. He said the possibilities of Nancy's disappearance are numerous.

He said, we just don't know. We're lacking that vital information. It could potentially be murder or homicide. We just don't know. The State Department and the FBI have now gotten involved in our assisting with the search. But many netizens feel like, still, the key to getting answers lies with the 11 people

that came back without Nancy. Nancy's sister, Nikki, has stated, there 11 people that came back without Nancy. Nancy's sister, Nikki, has stated, there are people that witness what happened within the group that haven't come forward. We're racking our brain as to why they wouldn't want to come forward and help if nothing nefarious happened. We are begging you, if anyone saw anything that could help us, just direct us where to look because we need answers. The FBI is also raising questions about why the witnesses

and Nancy's tour group waited 24 hours to report the alleged drowning. And every day, Nancy's family have to live with this terrifying reality. And, you know, they're being very realistic about it. They're listening to certain rescue coordinators. They're listening to experts. They're talking to the FBI because it's not like they have an infinite amount of resources. They have to be realistic all day every day and figure out where to look for answers. They have to face it head on. But it's usually at night where they'll kind of let

their minds wander. My dad, he... and this sounds terrible, but he... he keeps his phone next to my night. Just... like he's hoping for a ransom call, you know, something that will prove that Nancy might still be alive and that she's out there and she's just waiting for us to find her. The last time the family saw Nancy was October 12th, 2023, two days before Nancy's trip. She was sitting there at this Chinese restaurant for a joint birthday celebration for Nikki

and Richard, two of her three younger siblings, and she had a very, very, very serious question for her family. Should we still get the sauton pepper fried shrimp if we already ordered the other shrimp dish? Because we cannot have two shrimp dishes, right? Nancy was the self-appointed Protein variety manager for the dinner and while they waited for their food if you've been to a Chinese restaurant I thought you know those big white tables with the glass swivel in the middle

There's quite a bit of distance between everyone because it's like a very wide table and it's a round one and She's sitting opposite of Nikki her younger sister sister, and Nikki's sitting next to her partner, Jared, and Nancy keeps calling to the other side of the table. So what are you guys talking about? And Nikki's like, we're having a private conversation, Nancy. Thank you very much. And after dinner, Nancy, she's the one gathering her whole family to take a group photo, which is really hard when you have three younger siblings, including two younger brothers,

because almost always one of them is going to look like they're being forced to take a picture. But the photos turned out really cute. They blew out the candles for the joint birthday, ate the cake, and they were standing in the parking lot before Nancy announces that she better get going because she's got a pack for her trip to Guatemala. And they're like, oh yeah, this is the same exact announces that she better get going because she's got a pack for her trip to Guatemala. And they're like, oh yeah, this is the same exact yoga retreat

that she went last year with the same exact instructor. She loved it so much, she wanted to do it again this year. And I think, and I don't know, but I feel like as a family member, I would feel a little bit safer if my sibling had gone to the same exact experience last year. It's like, oh, it's just a repeat,

it's nothing new, it's not a new experience. She should have a better understanding of the area and everything like that. Nancy seemed really happy and content that she was able to kind of relax a little bit. This week was going to be for her to reconnect with herself in nature. Nikki said, if I had known that you'd go missing a week from that day I'd last saw you. I would have asked you to stay a little longer. During my conversation with Nikki and Jonathan, the first time that I saw both of them smile was when I asked about small habits Nancy has that really annoys them. So prior to this, we had been talking about Nancy's disappearance. And you can visibly see Nikki's mood and energy lift when she starts talking about Nancy, just who Nancy is.

And she's like, oh my gosh, so many. She's like, Jonathan, come here, help me out because there's so many. There's so many. Jonathan, come help me out. There's so many. Okay. We were joking because our last time we saw her was at our birthday dinner celebration. It was my birthday and my brother's birthday, my other brother. And so all dinner she was talking about her trip and she was saying like, okay, who wants to take me to the airport and no one said anything. And the reason for that is she is like always late, notorious, lily late for everything. And that's because she is a blabber mouth. You cannot stop her from talking.

So whatever event she's at, wherever she currently is, she's late because she can't stop talking to that person. So you literally have to pull her back sometimes. And I slowly retreat as she's still talking to me. That's how she is. So. And finally her dad has a proposal, a wager. The dad is like, okay, how about this, Nancy? You give me $500 right now.

If you show up to the airport on time, you make your flight, I'll give you $600 back. You're gonna make $100. Nancy thought about it. And she said, I'll just ask my housemates and everyone laughed. But you know like when you're a sister or your best friend annoys you, but at the same time it's a trait that you just would never want them to truly change because you love that part of them. That's how everyone feels about Nancy being late to everything.

Which you're like, that's crazy. Being late is not a good thing Stephanie. It is not. Okay, it's not. But Nancy isn't late because she's bad at time management. Let me give you some context. I feel like everyone I know today is always looking for the next big thing.

Looking for something better, bigger. Everyone is so busy on the go, go, go. We're not even really talking to each other anymore. I don't remember the last time I had a conversation with someone where I didn't say something along the lines of, I know everyone here is super busy so I'm not going to take too much of your time or I'll keep this brief because I know everybody's got things to do. If you said that to Nancy, she's the type to wave her hand and dismiss this whole idea

until you she's got all the time in the world. She has time for everyone, even when she really doesn't. And I don't know, and this is just speculation. Maybe Nancy is able to sense that we're all kind of lacking that sort of human connection, because people say that she just has a way of making people want to open up to her. Her brother Jonathan is probably a lot more like us.

He would watch Nancy chatting away with cashiers, strangers, walking their dogs. In my head I've always been like, it's just people, you know, it's just, I'll just move out of my day and do what I need to do. But she's like, oh, well, we're going to appreciate every single person. And I'm just like, oh, yeah. But also I respected so much. She has a very genuine interest and curiosity and each person is so special and I really want to hear their story.

One time Nancy dragged her family to go recycle cans and she starts talking to the guy that works there for like an hour, not about cans, nothing about recycling, about his life story, entirely about him, his family, his kids, his hobbies. Nikki said it was something only Nancy would do. But they kind of secretly love it about her. They always love that Nancy would turn around and go,

where did the time go? And it's kind of cute because Nancy reads a ton of self-help books on time management to see, where is my time going? And I don't know, I think Nancy doesn't have bad time management skills. I think she just really, really loves people. And she's sound like she's always present, which is, you know, you just don't see that these days. And now that Nancy is missing, the family comfort each other by saying, Nancy's going to be home.

She's just running a little bit late. Nancy is the oldest of four siblings in the family. It's two sisters, two brothers. Nancy's the oldest sister. And when they're growing up, they lived in this two bedroom apartment. Jonathan is the youngest, so he would sleep in the parents room. The other three siblings, they went in the other bedroom, was like the sibling bedroom.

But Jonathan was like, you know what, I'm a big kid now. I'm going to go join my siblings in the sibling bedroom. I think the day I was like, I'm going, I'm a big kid now. I'm gonna go join my siblings in the sibling bedroom. I think I was, the day I was like, I'm gonna go to the sibling room now. And my sisters were like, we're getting older now, so you guys can't be here anymore. So they just kind of kicked the boys out of the room. And we were just like, existing in the living room. And it's just like one of those peak sibling childhood core memory. But it's interesting because Nancy is also the type, even as the oldest, to be the first

to apologize to all of her younger siblings. Back then, when they all shared a bedroom, Nikki is a clean freak. She loves everything in its designated spot. Nancy, she thinks a little mess builds a little character, okay? And Nikki hates when Nancy would sit on her bed with outside clothes, and she would tell Nancy this. But Nancy would get so deep in a conversation with Nikki, her mind is running like a million miles an hour, she would stroll over to the bed and just pull up down on the bed with outside

clothes. But it's so hard for Nikki to get mad at Nancy because Nancy is also the type to remember every other little detail about everyone. When Nancy's roommate got COVID for the first time, Nancy felt bad because isolating is inconvenient, but it's also, it makes you a little sad, it makes you lonely when you're isolating.

Like last night her housemate was sharing with me. She remembered that his favorite childhood food was soy milk and muntel. It's like the white bread, the white buns. And she brought that and put it on his door, like a prisoner, like, it was just so sweet. And that story was like, oh, see Nancy remembers that kind of stuff.

Like she remembers details because it's important to her. Nancy's family said that she always wears her inner child on the outside. But what I found fascinating is, honestly, the duality of Nancy. She seems very vocal and vulnerable with her emotion, so people could quickly perceive her as being this extroverted, spontaneous, bubbly personality that's always on the go, always late. And she is, but she's also very responsible, a very routine driven person, which it feels like all of those things can't be true at once, but maybe that's what makes her so good

at her job. Her role in the special education department of the Alhambra Unified School District. So the whole in family, they love working with kids. Nikki, her sister is a pediatric nurse, and Nancy originally was planning on being a teacher K through five, but when she finished school, she realized it wasn't fulfilling. So she had a different calling.

She specifically wanted her position because she wanted one-on-ones with students. And now she primarily does one-on-ones or at max, like I think two students per one teacher ratio, where she works with students with disabilities. And she always talks to her family about how this is fulfilling because in this type of setting, she feels like she can hone in on what the student needs as an individual, not as what everybody needs as a class. And maybe a few students are struggling to keep up.

It's just all about that one student, how to help them and how to serve them. The kids, they really like Nancy. They feel safe with her, and I think that says a lot about someone. Nikki has been getting a ton of messages from parents of students that they all really miss Nancy right now.

And there's a huge level of responsibility and structure when it comes to a job like that. Work starts at 7.30 in the morning. Nancy works all the way till around 5pm. She's super focused on all of her students. Then after work, she goes to yoga. Then she comes home to cook dinner, catch up with friends, and then finish up some small work stuff and prep for the next day. It seems like the yoga retreat was a small break from this very busy, very responsible routine for her to just kind of reconnect with herself

and rebalance so that she could better provide for her job and her students. So I know about Nancy. She also is not that good at cooking, but she gets those meal kits delivered to her house. And she wants to work on her cooking skills. So after a long day of work and yoga, she comes home to try and learn how to cook.

And the meal kits, they are still being delivered to Nancy. Every time her loved ones get another delivery, they open it up and they put it in the fridge. A few years ago, Nikki saw a yoga studio. I forgot that I was the one that introduced her to the studio. It was a few years ago and the studio was offering like a free trial. And I wanted her to come with me to try it.

I ended up hitting it and she loved it so she kept going. That's how she met the yoga retreat coordinator because he works there. But she loved it because she felt like it was a place where she could really look inwards. Because her life was so busy, yoga was the only time she could truly feel present? It's not uncommon for Nancy to cry in yoga class, which, side note, a lot of instructors and anyone that's been doing yoga for a while, they will tell you that it's very common to cry when you're in class working on letting the tension out of your hips.

You almost feel this full body release and if you're really present in the moment because it's about connecting spiritually also with your body. It's not just a release of physical tension, it feels like an emotional release. It's a cleansing feeling. So a lot of people cry and Nancy really, really loves yoga for that. She even fell in love with the self-discipline aspect of yoga. She would do those 30 day challenges where she would attend an intense yoga class every day for 30 days straight, which is really impressive because usually by like three days

in most people are like, okay, I think that was good enough. I'm good. But that's just who she is. Nancy is very serious about the things that she's passionate about. The mornings are the hardest for Nikki. She said, but I think maybe the mornings are harder for me because, you know, when I sleep, I don't always dream. Sometimes it's just black. When I wake up, I always ask, wait, was it was everything that happened real? And it is.

And Stephanie Nancy's mom said in an interview, I miss my Nancy very much and I hope the government can help us find answers and bring her home. That was Nancy's mom's first interview with the news network to raise awareness for her daughter. Afterwards, she broke down. She turned to Nikki just tears streaming down her face and she didn't even know what to say because, you know, as much as the people working at these news outlets

They want to show compassion and they have genuine care for Nancy and her family But it's still hard for the family to experience all of this I mean, of course it is and at this point Nikki's Jonathan had done countless press interviews and Nancy's mom now knew Exactly, I mean she knew before that it was emotionally exhausting and taxing, but she didn't realize just how much until she felt it for herself. And the idea that two of her kids were bearing that amount of pain, I'm sure it must have been a very hard feeling for her. But Nikki and Jonathan, this is what they want to do and this is what they need to do to keep attention on Nancy's case. Nikki told her mom, look mom, you don't have to do anymore.

You've done more than enough. We can take it from here. And I don't really like to call people strong in situations like this because it feels like such a generic word that people just say to say. It feels overused, it feels very empty these days. And I don't even know if that word perfectly describes Nikki and Jonathan. I mean, don't get me wrong. Technically, they're very strong people.

Okay, I don't know if I can think of the exact word. So I'm just going to tell you what happened and maybe you can find the word to best describe them. At the end of my conversation with Nikki and Jonathan, and I forget how the topic of siblings came up, but I briefly mentioned how I also have an older sister. And I stopped because it just, it feels wrong to talk about my own sister while Nikki's sister was missing. And I think Nikki could sense the hesitation that I had because she smiled to make me feel more comfortable and she asked questions about my sister.

She asked about our age gap. She asked about our relationship and we had this whole conversation about how my sister's two kids, the girls they call me Momo and how it's a funny coincidence since Nancy's cat's name is Momo. And I don't know, I just, I imagine that in that situation, it must be hard for Nikki to talk to someone about their relationship with their siblings. But the fact that she made me feel so comfortable and she was smiling as I talked about my sister and kept encouraging me that it was okay. Like, it was just such a, yeah, I don't even know how to describe someone like that.

I imagine Nikki and Nancy have a lot of things in common, but probably they both make people feel very comfortable around them and they just make you wanna open up to them. So, yeah. As of right now, the search for Nancy is still going strong. If you have any tips or leads, you can email at help us find Nancy at gmail.com or you can message on Instagram at help us find Nancy or message via WhatsApp at 1626 614 3218. And please

let's reserve these forms of communication for serious leads and tips. Nancy's family, they already have a lot on their plate. We don't want to send unfounded speculations, theories, or anything of that sort to them. If you're in a position to donate and really every bit counts, the donations will go directly to the Ing family search for Nancy. They are having to pay for the search and rescue services completely out of pocket. And as of right now, the funds are directed towards rescue efforts, helicopter search and rescue teams,

equipment for volunteer divers, boat rescue teams, potential use of submarine and zone our equipment. The private search is still ongoing. Every day, multiple volunteers are combing through the lake and the local area. And in the event that the family needs to travel to and from Guatemala, there are a lot more details on how the funds are being used and go fund me, but they're very

thorough and transparent about how you they're using the donations. And if you're not in the position to donate and if you don't have any leads, you can actually call or email your local elected officials to keep them accountable. So I know that the State Department and the FBI are already on this case, but this is my personal opinion. People are always the best at their jobs when they know people are watching and are going to hold them accountable. So the template is going to be linked below. And I think it's just one of the reasons why keeping the conversation of Nancy's disappearance going is very important. So if you guys would like to help, keep searching for updates, follow up with the agencies

involved, follow up with your local officials, and let's keep showing our support for Nancy's family while they focus on bringing her home. Again, these are just my personal opinions. If you want to need direct statements from the family, refer to their GoFundMe page. They actually give a lot of periodic updates on there. They also have an Instagram account help us find Nancy that they also provide updates on the Family GoFundMe page. There was an update as of November 9, 2023. The family wrote on the GoFundMe page,

thanking law enforcement agencies who were involved. The search and rescue companies involved, press, and anyone who's donated or shared Nancy's story. They wrote, it brings tears to our eyes and a smile to our face when we think of how Nancy would react to all of this being done for her. We can hear her saying, it's okay guys,

you really don't have to go through all this trouble. Sometimes it's tempting to take those words to heart. Nothing about this has been easy. It's hard waking up every day to a world where Nancy isn't a phone call away and then mustering up the strength to get up where Nancy isn't a phone call away and then mustering up the strength to get up and do everything in our power to find her. It's exhausting to be vulnerable in front of a camera and plead for help and hurtful to read insensitive internet comments about someone that you love so dearly.

But the worst of it all is the uncertainty. Not knowing what exactly happened to Nancy or where she is, not knowing which nightmare scenario is reality. But despite the sadness, suffering, frustration, and uncertainty, our determination to find Nancy is unwavering. Though we fear the possibility of never finding answers, we seek, we can't help but fight for them, for Nancy. She might think it's too much trouble, but we know that she would do the exact same for

us. And that is the current ongoing situation. So please check all the links in the description and keep Nancy and her family and your thoughts. Please be safe everyone and we will see you guys on Wednesday. Please be safe everyone and we will see you guys on Wednesday.