UPDATE: Friends Of Couple Missing In Peru Holding Fundraiser To Aid In Search
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The search is on for a bay area couple who appears to be missing in South America while on the bike trip of a lifetime. One of those people used to live in Sacramento.
Even with new reports that Jamie Neal and boyfriend Garrett Hand were spotted in the Peruvian jungle in mid-February, their families say something just isn't right.
The couple's Facebook picture posts of their trip came to a screeching halt in late January and so did their bank account activity. The U.S. State Department is now helping in the search while friends and family are very worried about the two.
"This is a big deal, and we know Jamie and Garrett and the families definitely need our help," said Justin Simarro, Jamie's friend.
Simarro played bike polo with Jamie in Sacramento before she moved to the bay area.
"She's known around the town from a lot of different people, we are all there for her," said Simarro.
Simarro and others with the Capitol Bike Polo Club are organizing a charity event to try and raise some money for the families to search for the couple. Bike polo is just how it sounds, polo on bikes. He says people from around the world already want to help. And while he wants to raise a lot of money for the search, Simarro hopes none of it is needed.
"A safe return home, and that they are safe. And they are just having fun in the Amazon being young adults," said Simarro.
