Two American journalists who were vacationing in Lebanon have been reported missing. They were last seen eight days ago according to the U.S. Embassy. Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23, had been working for the Jordan Times.
They were expected to be in Amman on Saturday.
The
two had gone to Tripoli on Saturday from their hotel in Beirut. The area is known to have active fighting among the militants and Islamic fundamentalists.
Earlier this week the U.S. Embassy warned citizens about violent acts being carried out on Americans in Lebanon. The embassy asked American tourists and workers to take extra care as the threats have been particularly high so far this month.
Chmela and Luck arrived last Monday in Lebanon. The pair had told friends that they were planning to travel from Beirut to Tripoli through the coastal town of Byblos on October 1. That was the last time only one heard from them.
Chmela was a clerk at the new York Times in Washington before going to Jordan this year to study Arabic. She took an internship with Jordan Times after arriving.
Luck is from Oak Park, Illinois. He has been a reporter at the Jordan Times for eighteen months. He graduated last year from Beloit College. The college gave him a grant to go to Jordan to study Arabic.
Luck's mother called Samir Barhoumeh, the Jordan Times chief editor, concerned that her son had not used his credit card since October 1.
The U.S. Embassy is coordinating with the State Department in Washington and embassies in Amman and Damascus in the search for the two.
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