Last mobile location helped when ground search, helicopters couldn't trace bodies: Kin of 4 octogenarians killed in road crash in US
After several days of land and aerial search yielded no trace of the missing persons or their vehicle, investigators used the last known mobile phone locations to zero in on the crash site.
'Since the area is a ravine with thick vegetation, nothing was visible from the ground during search operations. Helicopters also couldn't trace anything. When the mobile data was extracted, it pointed to a specific location, which led police to the bodies. The last signals from their cellphones were located near Moundsville and Wheeling,' Himani Divan, daughter of Shailesh Divan, told The Indian Express. She had been in touch with her cousins since the night of July 29.
Dr Kishore Divan (89), Asha Divan (86), Shailesh Divan (87) and Gita Divan (83) were travelling by road from Buffalo, New York, to Prabhupada's Palace of Gold — an ISKCON temple in Marshall County, West Virginia — when their car reportedly went off the road and crashed.
It was Shailesh and Gita Divan's first visit to the temple. The couple, residents of Ahmedabad's Satellite area, were visiting Shailesh's elder brother Dr Kishore, who had moved to the US 45 years ago. They had arrived in the US in early June and were scheduled to return next weekend.
'We informed the police when my parents' phones were unreachable late on July 29. We grew suspicious as they hadn't reached their destination. My uncle was driving. From initial information, it seems the car rolled into the ravine. Perhaps, they lost balance or misjudged a turn on the winding road,' Himani said.
US authorities confirmed Sunday that the four had died in a vehicle crash. Their car was found around 9:30 pm local time Saturday, off a steep embankment along Big Wheeling Creek Road, about five miles from Prabhupada's Palace of Gold near the Pennsylvania border.
The Divan family has historic ties to Ahmedabad's Proprietary High School Trust, founded in 1931 by Jivanlal Divan and Balvantrai Thakore. Himani said her great-grandfather Balvantrai Thakore and her aunt Asha's grandfather Jivanlal Divan started the school and trust together.
According to the Trust's website, the two men participated in Mahatma Gandhi's 1930 Dandi March and were jailed. Fearing British seizure of assets, teachers transferred the school's ownership to a trust in 1931. The school was later renamed Divan Ballubhai High School and expanded over the decades to include nursery and English-medium sections.
On Sunday, the Hindu Cultural Society of Western New York (HCSWNY) posted on Facebook: 'It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Kishore Divan, Mrs Asha Divan, Mr Shailesh Divan and Mrs Gita Divan. The Divan family is a pillar of the Indian community of WNY. Dr Divan's contributions have been long and sustained. He was a founding member of the Hindu Cultural Society and the India Association of Buffalo… Their absence will leave a lasting void in our community. The family requests privacy for the time being… We pray for the family, and may the souls of the deceased rest in peace.'
Dr Kishore and Asha Divan, who lived in Buffalo, are survived by two sons, five grandchildren, and one great-grandson — all settled in the United States. Family members said all four will be cremated in the country.
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