Marine's father asks for help
in finding
his daughter, missing for 30 days
By David Allen, Okinawa
bureau chief
Larry Jarboe |
CAMP FOSTER — Larry Jarboe hopes his daughter comes out of
hiding this week, because the clock is ticking.
On Wednesday, Marine Pfc. Jodi Jarboe passes her 30th day of
unauthorized absence from work at Camp Hansen and can officially be declared a deserter.
"It will be much more serious for her then," said her
father, who has taken time off from his lumber business in St. Mary’s County, Md., to
search Okinawa for his daughter.
Larry Jarboe plans to sell some of the assets of his lumber
company to continue his search, at least for another two weeks.
"I’ll do whatever is necessary to secure my
daughter’s safe return," he said. "She can’t stay hidden
forever."
If he does find her, there will be no harsh words.
"I just come with unconditional love — and
truth," he said. "The truth is that she has to return to base and accept the
consequences, and the quicker she returns the better. "
The Marines, he added, "have gone beyond what they’d
normally do in a case like this. I don’t have any problem with the handling of this
case. Several individuals have really spent a lot of their own time to help me."
Jodi Jarboe did well in boot camp and at an artillery handling
school in Huntsville, Ala. She then got orders for Okinawa the first week of April as an
artillery materiel handler. After a few weeks of in-processing on Camp Foster, she was
transferred to Camp Hansen, where she was assigned to an administrative job with her
artillery materiel unit.
Her first day of work there was to be April 23. She never showed
up.
She told a friend that she was upset about being assigned to an
administrative job, her father said.
When a Marine fails to report for duty, and there is no evidence
of foul play, he or she is listed as UA. After 30 days police departments and government
agencies are notified of the desertion.
The official Marine response so far has been to acknowledge that
Jarboe is missing and that no foul play is suspected.
"I know they told us not to worry," Larry Jarboe said.
"But she’s my daughter. For me, this was a flabbergasting shock. We gave it a
few days to see if she would come back and then I started getting my things in order to
leave. I got an expedited passport and arrived on Okinawa [on] May 2."
After reaching Okinawa, he contacted Marine officials and they
helped trace his daughter’s steps until her disappearance.
"There were no signs of trouble," he said. "She
loved being a Marine."
David Allen / Stars and Stripes
Larry Jarboe is canvassing Okinawa in search of his missing daughter, Pfc. Jodi Jarboe,
passing out hundreds of small cards that contain two photos of her. |
Larry Jarboe arrived without much of a game plan. While
canvassing the island, he intended to pass out hundreds of small cards that contain two
photos of his daughter.
An Air Force sergeant he met at the Naha International Airport
helped get him set up at a local hotel. Since then, other individuals have assisted in his
search. He also bought a small mountain bike to get around on.
The search has been frustrating, he said. "There’s not
much to go on."
Jodi Jarboe has made several phone calls to Maryland since her
disappearance but they haven’t provided much useful information.
"She told her Mom not to worry, that she was safe and
living with a family," Larry Jarboe said. "But she was vague. Her mom told her
about the deadline for desertion and she said she knew and would turn herself in. But in
later conversations with my wife, I am not convinced it was a very strong
commitment."
In other phone calls, she told one friend she had just grabbed a
wig and toothbrush and left her barracks room, her father said. In another, she said she
had been harvesting seaweed somewhere in northern Okinawa.
Two weeks ago someone matching Jodi Jarboe’s description
was seen at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lester with a blonde-haired woman. They asked
for a ride to Camp Foster and the driver later reported the incident after seeing one of
Larry Jarboe’s posters — a larger version of the card.
"I really don’t know what that means," he said.
"Is she staying with a military family? I don’t know."
The posters also have her photograph and ask in both English and
Kanji for anyone that’s seen Jodi Jarboe to call her father’s cellular phone.
"The scenario that scares me the most is that she had a
mental collapse and somehow got involved with someone who is orchestrating these phone
calls home so there won’t be any red flags — that all is well and she’s not
in any trouble. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a wild goose chase.
"I don’t like to think that, but it is like she just
snapped," he said. "Maybe there was just too much stress. "
Jodi’s never been in any trouble or involved with drugs or
alcohol, Larry Jarboe said, and there’s no indication that she became romantically
involved with someone after arriving on Okinawa.
She has not touched the money in her bank account.
Anyone on Okinawa with information about Jodi Jarboe can call
her father’s cellular phone at 090-2967-9938. Others should contact a local base
Provost Marshall’s Office.
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