A Teacher Vanishes Again. This Time, in the Virgin Islands.
- 7 years ago
A Teacher Vanishes Again. This Time, in the Virgin Islands.
On Sept. 14, one week after Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, a 32-year-old teacher named Hannah
Upp left her apartment on St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, to go for a morning swim at a nearby beach.
If so, she may not know where she is, or who she is.”
Although Ms. Upp’s disappearance is only one of many gut-wrenching stories to emerge from the devastated Caribbean in the past few weeks, it is one
that may carry a sadly familiar ring for some New Yorkers.
“She’s one heck of an example; she’s not just a Montessori teacher, she’s a passionate Montessori teacher.”
While Ms. Upp may be suffering another dissociative fugue episode, it is far from a foregone conclusion.
Those with the condition, which is characterized in part by sudden and unexpected travel, “lose awareness for a lot of memory
that has to do with their own identity and recent experience,” said Dr. David Spiegel, Willson professor and associate chairman of psychology and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.
The next morning, a construction crew found her clothes
and car keys by the beach; two days later, her car, with her cellphone, wallet and passport inside, was found in the beach’s parking lot.
“Whenever we do a tour for a new family, the first classroom we visit is Hannah Upp’s,” said Michael Bornn, the head of the school.
She moved to St. Thomas the next year for a new job teaching 3- to 6-year-olds at the Virgin Islands Montessori School.
According to a note she left for her friends, she then planned to go to the Virgin Islands Montessori School, where she worked as a teacher.
On Sept. 14, one week after Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, a 32-year-old teacher named Hannah
Upp left her apartment on St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, to go for a morning swim at a nearby beach.
If so, she may not know where she is, or who she is.”
Although Ms. Upp’s disappearance is only one of many gut-wrenching stories to emerge from the devastated Caribbean in the past few weeks, it is one
that may carry a sadly familiar ring for some New Yorkers.
“She’s one heck of an example; she’s not just a Montessori teacher, she’s a passionate Montessori teacher.”
While Ms. Upp may be suffering another dissociative fugue episode, it is far from a foregone conclusion.
Those with the condition, which is characterized in part by sudden and unexpected travel, “lose awareness for a lot of memory
that has to do with their own identity and recent experience,” said Dr. David Spiegel, Willson professor and associate chairman of psychology and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.
The next morning, a construction crew found her clothes
and car keys by the beach; two days later, her car, with her cellphone, wallet and passport inside, was found in the beach’s parking lot.
“Whenever we do a tour for a new family, the first classroom we visit is Hannah Upp’s,” said Michael Bornn, the head of the school.
She moved to St. Thomas the next year for a new job teaching 3- to 6-year-olds at the Virgin Islands Montessori School.
According to a note she left for her friends, she then planned to go to the Virgin Islands Montessori School, where she worked as a teacher.