‘A needle in a haystack': Hamilton family scours Panama jungle for missing dad and kids

Hamilton Spectator

a day ago

Walking across a narrow bridge in northwest Panama — a low, tea-coloured river to her left and boundless jungle rising to her right — Nagham Azzam-Iqbal pauses to reflect on the task ahead.
'We're searching for a needle in a haystack.'
The Ancaster woman is thousands of kilometres from home in a desperate effort to find her brother-in-law, Ghussan Iqbal, who vanished into the dense forests near the border of Panama and Costa Rica with his two young children last week.
Azzam-Iqbal said Iqbal, 31, graduated from McMaster University and lived on the Hamilton Mountain before he moved to the Panamanian city of Changuinola about a year ago, just before his wife, Fatima, gave birth to their son.
He went missing with his seven-month-old son and two-year-old daughter on May 21, when Fatima woke up to find them gone.
'We just came as quick as we could,' Azzam-Iqbal said over video call Thursday, tilting her phone to show her husband, Sulman Iqbal, as they walked on the bridge Thursday to meet a search team that includes police, firefighters and several members of Fatima's Panama-based family.
The couple flew to Costa Rica on the night of May 22 before crossing into Panama by bus and foot the following day.
Azzam-Iqbal, 31, said her brother-in-law has untreated mental-health issues. Prior to moving to Panama, he was hospitalized at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton for an episode of psychosis, she added.
'We know Ghussan has psychosis and during psychotic episodes, he tends to disappear,' she said. 'He's someone who's unwell and vulnerable, and he has even more vulnerable children with him.'
Despite reported sightings — local authorities have put out multiple Amber Alerts — the search for Iqbal, his daughter Nousaybah and his son Musa has so far turned up naught, with the three believed to be somewhere in the jungle.
Azzam-Iqbal said the terrain in the area — tall trees, thick greenery and tangled vines surround a few narrow mountain roads flanked by a river — has made the situation 'dire.' As has the weather: rain and humid heat, north of 30 C, is forecast in Changuinola for the next seven days. There are other things that are out of the family's control. Changuinola is sparsely populated with just over 30,000 residents, many of whom live in remote, tucked away Indigenous communities. Meanwhile, Bocas Del Toro, the province where the city is located, recently declared a
state of emergency
amid protests against the local government.
'Can you see the blockade right behind me?' Azzam-Iqbal said, pointing to police and barricades at one end of the bridge.
While local police are helping with the search, Azzam-Iqbal said they lack resources. She said they don't have any search dogs, night-vision goggles or drones. Instead, they've relied on more traditional means: boots on the ground, megaphones, flashlights and word of mouth.
'The people in the remote Indigenous communities, when they see us, they come running to tell us where they spotted him,' she said. 'It's not a well-resourced search, but it's one where everyone's invested in the well-being of these kids and Ghussan.'
'We have no idea how a seven-month-old and two-year-old would survive. There's a lot of vegetation and farmers in the area — maybe he's stealing fruit to feed them. We don't want to think of the worst outcome,' she added.
As they continue the search, the family is also pleading with Canadian officials to step in — Iqbal and his two-year-old daughter are both citizens. Azzam-Iqbal said Global Affairs Canada has assigned them a case manager from Latin America to help liaise with local authorities. They've also provided consular services, 'but they said they can't interfere with a foreign investigation.
'Emotional support, but nothing tangible,' Azzam-Iqbal said.
In a statement, Global Affairs said it's aware of the missing-person cases but that local law enforcement is responsible investigating such reports in their jurisdiction.
'Consular officials are actively engaged with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the family,' a spokesperson for the agency said. 'The safety and security of Canadian citizens abroad is a top priority for the Government of Canada.'
No other information was shared.
Azzam-Iqbal said the family is pleading with anyone who might have had contact recently with Ghussan to contact the family or Hamilton police, who she noted have been made aware of the situation.
'Our number-one priority is the children, but we want him to know that we're here for him and we want to support him,' she said.