Checking In

After Hurricane Irma destroyed the whole St. Thomas, Hannah was concerned about her ex-boyfriend Joe Spallino, a scuba instructor. She lost contact with him since the hurricane. On the sixth day after the disaster, she drove to his home to check on him and to get more information about the hurricane. When she reached his place, she noticed that all his belongings were gone. Her heart was sinking with bad thoughts but luckily she saw his landlord who informed her that he was fine. So she hurried in the direction where she could find Joe.

To The Shore

Joe was assisting people on a marina to get free rides on the “mercy ships” before the next Hurricane hits the island, Hurricane Maria; a category 5 storm. She met him when he boarding a ship that was heading to Puerto Rico when he offered her humorously to join him. “What if you come along?” he asked, to which Hannah replied that it wasn’t a good idea to leave with him. Now Joe wishes if he would have convinced her to get on the ship, she would have been among her loved ones today.

No More Phone

After meeting Joe, Hannah stopped using her phone. She never send any messages nor any calls were made ever. When Hannah went to the school she met the school’s directors, Norma Bolinger,  who was helping along with other people were ensuring that the school could stand through Hurricane Maria, which was about to hit St. Thomas within a few days. The next day she appeared at the school but behaved in a weird manner which everyone noticed but no one actually thought would be affecting her so much. They assumed that it was the fear of the hurricane that she behaved in such a manner. What exactly did she do that made people wonder all this?

Strange Behavior

They were removing all the pictures from the walls. Norma was talking to Hannah when she was replying with the one-word answers, either yes or no. She was a talkative as well as a kind person who enjoyed indulging in conversations. “She totally absorbed the Montessori theory, to the point where I could see her becoming a mover and shaker in politics,” Norma recalled in an interview later on. What was going on with her?

Something’s “Upp”

Hannah did a lot of work in the school that day and reached home all tired. When her roommates were talking about Hurricane Maria, she sat there quietly. Three of her roommates decided on getting away from the island as soon as possible and asked Hannah to join them. She freaked out and seemed annoyed with their conversation. “I’m staying— that’s where my heart is. School is going to be the first step toward normality for these kids,” she said to Leslie Bunnell, one of her roommates. This was her last face to face conversation with anyone. 

A Note

On September 14, 2017, when her friends woke up Hannah wasn’t there but they did see a note left by her. They were a bit suspicious of the note as she could have texted the same thing to them which was mentioned in the note. Nobody could understand the need of the note but no one took it as something serious.