AN AMERICAN WOMAN GOES MISSING IN NEPAL

Father heading OUT FOR Nepal in search for HIS missing daughter, 23

By Yesenia Robles

The Denver Post

Paul Sacco, the father of a missing Greeley woman, is set to jump on a plane to Nepal today on a mission to find his daughter, even if it means hiking through 52 miles of trails.

"I'm not coming back without her," Sacco said. "Dad's supposed to protect her, and here I am 12,000 miles away. It's crazy."

On Saturday, Aubrey Sacco, 23, was scheduled to take a flight from Nepal to Sri Lanka, where she was to spend the last week of her six-month trip.

Aubrey was last heard from April 20 when she e-mailed plans of hiking alone through Nepal's Langtang trail.

She expected to finish the trek around April 30.

But while she was in Langtang National Park, protests and strikes demanding the resignation of Nepal's prime minister shut down businesses, transportation and much of the local communication networks.

Based on witness sightings reported to local police in the initial days, the Sacco family said they believe Aubrey retreated back into the park to use a longer trail instead of walking into the turmoil.

Nepali government officials, the Nepalese Army and the U.S. Embassy started searching the park's trails almost a week ago but have been unable to find her. No recent sightings of her have been reported.

Saturday night, the United Nations said it would join the search, Paul Sacco said.

Dinesh Shakya, a Denver resident who met the Sacco family through mutual friends, is from Nepal and has been working to make connections with people who may have seen Aubrey Sacco.

"This is a big issue for everybody. All the businesses depend on tourists, so we don't want to hear any bad news," Shakya said. "Everybody is trying their best to bring her home safe."

Shakya will take time away from operating his gift shop in Estes Park to travel to Nepal with Sacco to help navigate the region and translate.

"I really believe that she is safe, but even this is a long time gone now, and we're really worried," Paul Sacco said.

Aubrey Sacco left for Southeast Asia in December after graduating last May from the University of Colorado at Boulder with degrees in art and psychology.

While traveling through India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, she has spent time studying yoga, meditation and Eastern philosophy, her father said.

"She's like an old soul. She loves humanity," he said.

@ THE DENVER POST Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1638 or yrobles@denverpost.com