Missing U.S. teacher's body located in Ishinomaki

Jean Anderson said her daughter was last seen after the earthquake riding her bike away from an Ishinomaki elementary school after making sure parents picked up their children.

Sadly just one of the heart breaking stories that are starting to emerge.

Sincere condolences to her family and friends. She sounds like she was a caring woman.

how very sad.

i hope it was quick,,,,,poor thing

She did not die alone.

She did not die alone.

Probably not much of a consolation for her parents though... I just hope all these lives have not been lost for nothing and that we can learn how better to deal with these situations in the future now!

Stories like this put a human face on the tragedy for me. When I read reports of 20,000 dead or missing, it is just a number. I don't stop to think that they all had lives, loves, dreams, hopes and problems.

May she live on forever in the hearts of those who knew her.

If an earthquake strikes, get ready for a possible tsunami. Hopefully we will all remember this lesson if we were caught in a situation like that.

RIP Taylor Anderson

Sincere condolences to the Anderson family, but if it's any consolation, this young woman probably saved the lives of her students by making sure they all got home safely with their parents. RIP Miss Anderson.

She sounds like the kind of person I would have liked to have met. I'm sure she'll be remembered by those whose lives she touched.

As the parent of a former JET ALT as well as having myself spent two years after graduating college teaching English in Japan myself on the MEF program, this tragic death particularly hits home. My sincerest condolences to Ms. Anderson's family and friends. She will remain in the hearts of many, both in the US and in Japan.

As with all the victims of this disaster, this is extremely sad. And as with all, I hope she can rest in peace.

There are more than 20000 stories like this.Each japanese missing person has their own stories than Why giving importance to U.S. citizen?

pranavk, it's called a human interest story. You can be sure there are plenty of Americans (and other non-Americans, like myself) on this site who are concerned. If you don't care about your nationality, that's your business. A lot of people do care where they come from and what their actions mean on behalf of their country.

RIP Taylor, with condolences to her family, friends and students.

No different from the 20000 dead.Give us a break.Is this news t all?

Interesting point pranavk.

To be honest I have to agree with you. I doubt if it was a British, Australian or Chinese person they would get their own headline ... Anyways ... doesn't make it any less tragic. But everyone of those people who died deserves to have their stories told.

No different from the 20000 dead.Give us a break.Is this news t all?

Yes, it is different and it is news. It is news for American readers that brings the tragedy closer to home for them, just the same as the death of any other foreign national will be news in there own countries.

This, though, does not imply that the other 20,000+ deaths are not also news. They are not mutually exclusive.

Condolences to the Anderson family and to all of the families affected, whether in Japan or across the world.

Officials with the U.S. Embassy in Japan and the State Department could not immediately confirm whether she was the first known U.S. victim in Japan. A 25-year-old man is presumed dead after being swept into the ocean March 11 by a swell from the tsunami on the northern California coast.

My condolences also go to the family of this man that went to the sea when was warned not to.

Ms. Anderson was on a mission to help parents save their kids first and herself second. She is a hero. Both RIP, and all the others.

Sad that some commenters turned this into a nationality issue. Not a US citizen and rarely agree with the US policy but still: 1- The teacher was last seen after the earthquake riding her bike away from an Ishinomaki elementary school after making sure parents picked up their children. 2- At an extremely difficult time that usually leads us to be selfish, her parents said: "Please continue to pray for all who remain missing and for the people of Japan.".

If anything, this should show how very good and respectful she and her parents are (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). I think her parents are very much honored to have such a kid.

The fact that another 22,000 people lost their lives doesn't mean that we should disrespect or not sympathize with individual people.

"Ms. Anderson was on a mission to help parents save their kids first and herself second. She is a hero. Both RIP, and all the others".- I would like to believe that but I am not sure the timeline adds up. The school was evacuated and the tsunami hit shortly after. All the parents were able to pick their children up before the tsunami came? I just wonder why she left to return to her apartment if the tsunami hit 20 minutes after the earthquake? It would have taken at least 10 minutes to evacuate all the students to the grounds and then organize the pickups.... then get the all clear to leave? I offer my sincere condolences to her family. I am wondering about the timeline and why she left when other teachers stayed behind to move the children to higher ground according to msnbc.? I am not saying anyone wouldnt have done the same thing but the tragedy of the story lies in the decision to leave. Why was it made?

Yes Kaptan-san, A hero. I stayed at my school in Tokyo for three hours until I was told I could go and kids were still being picked up. No power, not traffic lights, pure hell on the traffic game, but big intersections have generators which I found out on my 8 hour walk home. Yes 8 hours. Her Kocho sensei probably told her she should go. Timing on events like this is hard to figure out.

@haruka, i understand and empathize with your feelings. but it didnt answer any of my questions or relevantly pertain to any point I made.

Given the speed the tsunami hit schools would not have had parents coming to pick children up. Drills would have all residents evacuating to set areas. The report of her staying to help children is based on her parents being told she was last seen cycling off after waiting for parents to collect children. Others read into this that it was after the tsunami struck but it only makes sense if she was just finishing her work day at school, waiting with children for parents to collect them as normal and then cycled home - before the tsunami struck.

I don't want to downplay the loss for those close to her but attention should be focused on those still performing heroically at the nuclear plant and those still suffering lack of food shelter and supplies in the affected area.

this young woman probably saved the lives of her students by making sure they all got home safely with their parents. RIP Miss Anderson.

I couldn't agree with you more. She was probably aware of the danger imposed by an abnormal jolt, which would no doubt bring a catastrophic injury to her students in less than an hour. It's just too bad Isinomaki city is at the sea level--just like New Orleans(LA) and Galveston(TX), and her school is located on the coast side.

Her alma mater Randolph-Macon College posted an update on the university website.RIP.

@kaptainkichigai:

The school was evacuated and the tsunami hit shortly after. All the parents were able to pick their children up before the tsunami came?

The school building was evacuated. No way could the parents have come in time let alone be notified, and no one even knows if that building survied in total. She did what she was doing in a human way. Like Hachiko, no one will ever know really what happened.

I just wonder why she left to return to her apartment if the tsunami hit 20 minutes after the earthquake?

Who took pictures or recorded her going to her apartment?

It would have taken at least 10 minutes to evacuate all the students to the grounds and then organize the pickups.... then get the all clear to leave?

This is not a question...what do you mean?

I offer my sincere condolences to her family. I am wondering about the time line and why she left when other teachers stayed behind to move the children to higher ground according to msnbc.?

Same as my school. Those furthest away were told to leave as those closest living to the school would remain with those that parents had yet to come to pick them up.

I am not saying anyone wouldn't have done the same thing but the tragedy of the story lies in the decision to leave. Why was it made?

Stated above. Please read clearly. Plus look at the recorded time of the first Earthquake, and the distance from the shore and the tsunami that followed it in a vengeance to consume and mass consume all those in its wake. A tragedy deshoooo! Shoganai. Life is fleeting in the least.

I have been criticized on my ability to coherently speak and write Japanese and English here. One must never forget that spoken language and written language are two different games. I can walk all over most of you but that is not important.

Let these people survive and rebuild. Let the world and us here help them.

I will be back to my simple writing in other responses. This is live blog, spontaneous chat forum provided by JT and that is why we love it. Would love to see more internationals participate though. H

@himehentai

Well put.

RIP Taylor Anderson

@ haruka-"The school building was evacuated. No way could the parents have come in time let alone be notified, and no one even knows if that building survied in total" -Jean Anderson said her daughter was last seen after the earthquake riding her bike away from an Ishinomaki elementary school after making sure parents picked up their children- Do you see the contradictions in your statement and the statement from the article? here it is- No way could the parents have come in time -after making sure parents picked up their children- So, was there no way the parents could have come in time or did she leave AFTER making sure parents picked up their children? "Who took pictures or recorded her going to her apartment?" "She was riding her bike toward her apartment after ensuring that students at her school had been picked up by their parents." -As reported on abc.com -So you can see yet another contradiction here. "Same as my school. Those furthest away were told to leave as those closest living to the school would remain with those that parents had yet to come to pick them up." Well, I doubt she lived furthest away as she was riding her bicycle home as stated on the news. So Again WHY was she given the OK to leave when Tsunami warnings were going off?. Surely residents of the city and her bosses should have known of the Tsunami danger. A girl who had been in country for 19 months possibly was NOT aware of the dangers so she SHOULD NOT have been told to leave. JET students are under the wings of their Japanese bosses and company predesessors.

"I have been criticized on my ability to coherently speak and write Japanese and English here. One must never forget that spoken language and written language are two different games. I can walk all over most of you but that is not important."- I have no idea what you are talking about here or what it has to do with my questions. Perhaps this is directed at someone else? "will be back to my simple writing in other responses. This is live blog, spontaneous chat forum provided by JT and that is why we love it. Would love to see more internationals participate though. H"- again, are you talking to me or someone else?. Who is "we"? Are you speaking for more than one person?I have no idea how this comment pertains to anything in this thread. I do appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with me. However, It seems answers to my questions or concerns probably dont exist.

For those who questioned why this American got an article when 20,000 others haven't, I point you to the dateline (Richmond, VA) and source of the article (Associated Press). The article ran in the Richmond newspaper because it was a story that was local. The story then was picked up by AP. JT then reprinted the AP article here. Something tells me if there are similar articles about Japanese individuals, JT will reprint those as well.