Sam Dixon Missing in Haiti: Clinton Rabb Missing in Haiti, James Gulley Missing in Haiti

I received an email from a reader who said members of a United Methodist Relief Committee (UMCOR) have not had contact with the U.S. since the Haiti earthquake. The names of those missing at this time are Dr. Sam Dixon, Clinton Rabb and James Gulley, and it is believed that Sarla Chand, Rick Santos and Ann Varghese, of IMA World Health, have also not been heard from. UPDATE 1-15-09 9:40 a.m CDT: Dixon, Rabb and Gulley have been found alive. Mr. Dixon is being treated for injuries. No word about Rabb and Gulley, other than that Gulley was found but not yet freed from the rubble. Chand, Santos and Varghese are all rescued as of 5:30 p.m.1-15-10. 

UPDATE 1-17-10: Announced today that Rev. Sam Dixon died of his injuries before he was pulled from the rubble of Hotel Montana. A reader left a comment that the Rev. James Gulley, who is doing well and reportedly back home in Colorado, has said that Rev. Clinton Rabb has also dead. I can find no reports to confirm this. The current information is that Rabb is in critical but stable condition in a Florida hospital. More as available.

1-17-10 - my latest update here.

Dr. Dixon is the head of the United Methodist Relief Committee. Clinton Rabb is the executive director of Volunteers in Mission and James Gulley is a consultant to the UM Relief Committee.

Reports of Dr. Dixon's whereabouts at the time the earthquake hit are unclear. One report says he was at the Port-au-Prince airport, but this report directly from UMCOR says he was with with Rabb and Gulley, and the three were seen entering the now-destroyed Hotel Montana.

The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive, said a car had dropped the three men at the Hotel Montana. “The driver reported he had driven about five minutes (afterward) when he was stopped by the earthquake,” he added.

 Dr. Dixon lives with his wife Cindy in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

Clinton Rabb, 60, of Hawthorne, NY stepped into a restaurant at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince minutes before the earthquake hit the city. His wife, Susan, is waiting:

She hasn't heard from him since he left for Haiti about 9 a.m. Tuesday, leading a group of missionaries from Global Ministries for the United Methodist Church in New York City.

...her eight children, most of whom are traveling to her home, and friends keep her abreast of developments, including news Thursday that some survivors were being pulled from the hotel's remains.

Clinton Rabb, 60, is a a minister and serves as the executive director of the ministries' board.

James Gulley resides in Frisco, Colorado and the local paper, the Summit Daily News, says he is a local missionary. This report said he left Hotel Montana to go to the airport for a trip home, but as with the report on Dr. Dixon, UMCOR has differing information.

Sarla Chand is vice president of international programs for IMA World Health. Rick Santos is IMA World Health's president, and Ann Varghese is the program officer for Haiti.

The Agence France Presse says that about 200 people were missing after the collapse of the Hotel Montana.

UMCOR is asking for our prayers.