Jacob Boehm
Malaysia’s Taman Negara may be an ideal place to commune with nature and escape from our hyper-connected world. But the expansive rainforest proved no match for the social media community that rallied Friday to track down Stanford senior JACOB BOEHM.
The 22-year-old North Carolina native began his summer in Japan with the Stanford Chamber Chorale, then he struck out on his own, traveling through Thailand and Malaysia, posting photos and updates on Google+ and calling home regularly.
But after several days passed with no postings, no calls and no activity on his ATM card, Boehm’s parents started to worry. On Friday morning, his mother sent out an email to his friends, which went viral across Stanford’s campus and across the world. Meanwhile, Facebook groups devoted to finding him were set up; tweets and blog posts also were used spread the word.
By early Saturday morning word came that Boehm had been found.
On Saturday morning one of the Facebook pages had this update from Boehm’s father, Bruce Boehm: “Early this morning we got a note from the US Consul in [Kuala Lumpur] saying that a person on his staff had actually talked to Jacob using some sort of two-way radio that works in Taman Negara national park.”
According to a story in the New York Times, Boehm’s mother, Nancy Luberoff, said in a statement: “We are so grateful for this spontaneous community and outpouring of support,” she said. “I hope it becomes a model for others.”
