FRED Kirschhoch, the father of American travel writer, Claudia Kirschhoch, who went missing in Jamaica 21 months ago, said yesterday that he was satisfied with police investigations into her disappearance, although there was no concrete evidence of his daughter’s whereabouts.

“The police chief (Francis Forbes) and the investigator, Superintendent Andrew Frater, cleared up the ambiguities and gave us hope that the investigations are ongoing, which we want them to continue working on. They appear to be doing so and we are very happy with that,” said Fred Kirschhoch, who added that Forbes was very forthcoming with information.

He was speaking with reporters yesterday at the US Embassy in Kingston after meeting with Commissioner Forbes and Superintendent Frater for an update on the status of the investigations and to review information sent to them.

Fred Kirschhoch, who, with his wife May-Ann, arrived in Jamaica last Thursday, said the meetings were productive and that he was happy with the answers from the police.

But his wife was not as optimistic. She said she felt the police were on top of specific issues but that there was information which required them to do a more thorough and intensive investigation. “It is very difficult for us so we just came down to get some answers,” she said.

Claudia Kirschhoch, a writer for Frommers Travel Guide, was among a group of US travel writers who arrived in Jamaica from New York on May 24, 2000, enroute to Cuba.

However, the Cuban trip fell through and Sandals provided accommodation for the group. Kirschhoch and another writer, Tanya Grossinger, opted to stay at Beaches Negril. Grossinger checked out as scheduled but Kirschhoch missed her June 1 check out date and has not been seen since.

At the time, there were allegations of adventurism by Claudia Kirschhoch at Beaches before her mysterious disappearance. However, her father denied the allegations, saying that while his daughter liked to learn about local culture and people, she would not engage in any obscene behaviour.

Yesterday, Fred Kirschhoch, accompanied by his consultant, retired New York detective inspector, Dave Beths, showed reporters a letter from US secretary of state, Colin Powell, who promised to continue to pursue the issue of Claudia Kirschhoch’s disappearance with the Jamaican government.

Fred Kirschhoch said also that anonymous letters, e-mail and phone calls have been sent to the police through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is also probing the case.

Meanwhile, a reward of US$50,000 is still being offered for information that can lead to Claudia Kirschhoch’s whereabouts.