29 April 2015
UPDATE: KATIE CROUCH WAS LOCATED IN NEPAL ON THURSDAY MORNING (AUSTRALIAN TIME) AND IS SAFE. THE FAMILY WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR CONCERN AND HELP BY SHARING HER STORY
The daughter of New South Wales trainers Karen Crouch and Andrew Crouch is missing in Nepal after last weekend’s earthquake. Twenty five year old Katie Crouch left Australia with her boyfriend a fortnight ago and was expecting to be away for a total of five months.
Leading driver Lauren Panella is a good friend of Katie’s and has asked the industry to do everything they can to help locate the young Australian.
“Karen is struggling to deal with everything that has happened over the past couple of days and according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) there isn’t a lot that can be done at this stage,” Panella said.
“What DFAT did say though was to keep trying to ring her phone and to spread the word that she is missing via social media to raise awareness of her situation after the devastating earthquake that has caused so much damage.”
Panella confirmed Katie had been in contact with her family on Saturday to tell her family she was enjoying her holiday.
“Katie got in touch with Karen on Saturday to let her know that she was having a good time and that she would be heading off into the mountains on Sunday and unfortunately no one has heard anything since.”
“I met Katie through Karen, she loves to travel, is a very smart girl and we all holidayed together on the Gold Coast not too long ago and had a great time.”
Katie Crouch is one of 549 Australians registered as travelling in Nepal and officials are working under challenging conditions to locate all those in the country. Disruptions to telecommunications, transport and tourist infrastructure is making it difficult for those that are in Nepal but Panella hopes that Katie will be found soon.
“By spreading the word about Katie it might assist in the search for her and we are asking everyone to share this via social media to highlight the fact that she is missing.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
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To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
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Name:
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Greg Hayes
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Position:
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Media Co-ordinator
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Phone:
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(02) 9722 6600
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Email:
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ghayes@hrnsw.com.au
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.