It’s been 12 weeks with no sign of missing Vancouver backpacker Nicole Vienneau, last seen leaving the Cairo Hotel in Hama, Syria on March 31.

 Some would have given up by now.

 But her boyfriend, Gary Schweitzer, is so determined to find her that he’s back in Syria for a month and has pledged to walk every step of the 42-kilometres from al-Hamrah to Qasr Ibn Wardan (a castle she may have visited).

 “Gary, God love him, he’s over there doing a grid search,” Nicole’s mother Kathryn Murray, told The Vancouver Province yesterday, in a rare interview from her home in Toronto.

 “He’s checking every single thing along the path, any barn, any culvert, any ditch, stopping at all the houses and talking to everybody just to make sure that from that 42 kilometres, if anybody saw any sign of her, then he’ll find it,” she said.

 In an interview with last month Schweitzer said, “I promised her mom I wouldn’t come home without her and that is still my intention.”

 Nicole’s mother and stepfather, Bruce, are also making their first trip to Syria next week.

 “I need to see it for myself. It’s been over three months. I need to see the situation and what she was facing,” Nicole’s mother said.

 “In Syria the parents are very important. (We’re hoping) to be there, (to show) we’re looking for her, that someone cares a great deal, loves her and wants her back will have an impact.”

 Meanwhile, on-line efforts are gathering steam.

 “Strangers have been absolutely fantastic,” said Nicole’s brother, Matthew Vienneau. “It’s incredibly heartwarming to see people dedicate their time and energy to our search. It gives you great faith in humanity.”

 More than 100 people have donated money to the search efforts. On-line well-wishers have helped track down hotel guests, translated documents into Arabic and arranged for free tickets to Syria.

To date, the family has spent $50,000 in plane tickets, travel, a reward, lawyers and translators.

 Yet leads have slowed to a trickle.

 “We’ve had a variety of false leads as a result of the reward offer,” Vienneau said, citing bogus ransom requests. “It’s been a grim month in terms of new information. It’s very tough to keep going.”

 Nicole’s mother is also struggling.

 “It’s harder every day that passes. Not knowing is the most difficult thing I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “You try not to assume the worst. She is a survivor. If there is any way to make it through this, she will.”

 

Canada.Com