Two Icelanders, Karly Jóna Kristjónsdóttir Legere (Systa), and a 67 year old woman who’s name has not been disclosed, are still missing after Hurricane Katrina passed through the southern US last week. Morgunbladid reported early this morning that Lilja Adalbjörg Ólafsdóttir Hansch who had been reported missing was located late last night.
Systa, 75, was reported missing to the Icelandic Foreign Ministry on Saturday. Systa lives in Diamond Head, a small town 75 km north east of New Orleans with her husband and three children who are also missing. According to Fréttabladid, Systa has heart problems.
The 67 year old woman lives in New Orleans.
Fréttabladid reported on Saturday that Lilja, 40, living in Gulfport, Mississippi, had been speaking to her sister, Helga Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, in Iceland when the line went dead. “I tried to be her lifeline through the phone,” says Helga. The two spoke from 6 am till 10 am. Lilja told her sister that the roof was leaking, all the trees had blown out of the garden and that she was trying to keep the front door closed, otherwise she feared the house would explode.
Lilja is safe and not hurt. Her son is with her and her husband is on her way home from Japan where he was working. Minor damages occurred to their house. Lilja was unable to communicated with her family in Iceland after the phone call with her sister because of a power outage.
Fréttabladid reported on Sunday, that Hilmar S. Skagfield, Iceland’s consul in Tallahassee, Florida, was managing the search for Lilja. He has lived in the US for 55 years and was using his connections to try to locate Lilja. Last Friday, Hilmar found an Icelandic man who had been reported missing.
Other Icelanders and people with connections to Iceland are helping with the search. Frank Bocchino, from Pensicola in Florida, is using his connections with the police to help find Systa. He says that it is matter of priority to find Systa because of her heart problems.
