Haitian girl arrives safely in Utah for adoption

Publication date: 23 January 2010

Relief » St. George volunteers and an Ogden agency hope to get more orphans out of Haiti.

by Christopher smart

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 01/23/2010 07:03:05 PM MST

Hollie Wardle, of Bountiful, holds her newly adopted Haitian daughter, Gabrielle, 7, who arrived at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Saturday after flying to Utah with her dad, Jeremy Wardle. (Jim Urquhart / The Salt Lake Tribune)

Haiti earthquake

Jan 24:

Haiti buried 150,000 victims

History shows obstacles can block recovery

Haiti nursing home still waiting on food pledges

Ogden group still trying to get orphans out of Haiti

Eleven days after quake, rescuers pull man from rubble

Jan 23:

Haitian Archbishop mourned

Hope wanes: Haiti government calls off search and rescue

Stars unite to help Haiti

Survivors flee capital

Jan 22:

LDS Church to members: Help Haitians

SLC team's task now is getting out of Haiti

Utah businessman didn't hesitate to help Haiti

Bountiful couple get child from Haiti; Lehi couple still waiting

Jan 21:

Utahns prepare for Haitian orphans, just in case

Jan 20:

Utah doctor vows to rebuild in Haiti despite devastation

Haitians in Utah looking for ways to help homeland

Adoption balance: Haiti's orphans caught in middle

Feds' clampdown on Haitian adoptions leaves Utahns' plan in limbo

Jan 18:

Haiti: LDS medical team undaunted, despite delays

Jan 15:

Utah families wait in limbo for adoptive kids in Haiti

FBI alerts donors to scam risk

Jan 14:

Haitians in Utah eager to get home

Jan 13:

Utah charity at heart of quake relief efforts

Utah Haitians frantic for news from home

McEntee: Utahns praying, waiting for word

Fault lines: How the quake happened

A cheer went up when 7-year-old Gabrielle Wardle came down the escalator at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

At her side stood her new father, Jeremy Wardle, who brought the girl from earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Gabrielle was greeted by a couple dozen new family and friends when she arrived Saturday. Her brothers and sisters held up signs, including one that said, "Welcome Home Gabrielle."

Then came a tearful reunion and a big kiss from Gabrielle's new mom, Hollie Wardle. It was hugs all around from a loving and new extended family who were simply overjoyed.

As for Gabrielle, well, she appeared stunned. But then, again, she's had a big week. She is one of dozens of Haitian orphans airlifted to Florida by a private St. George group. After getting Gabrielle and 20 other children Thursday to Fort Lauderdale, the group flew 80 more orphans out of harm's way Saturday to Orlando.

Meanwhile, an Ogden agency continued to wait in Port-au-Prince for exit papers for 60 children and scrambled to find transportation out of the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean country.

Boyd Livingston, who is helping coordinate the rescue effort from St. George, said the 80 children were flown to an Orlando-area military installation on a cargo plane that left Haiti about 2 p.m. (EST).

All 101 children flown to Florida by the group, headed by St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson, were previously matched to adoptive parents in the United States.

"Everything is going very well," Livingston said. "This little group from St. George, we have very little money, but we have saved [101] souls."

The group was trying to remove an additional 27 orphans from Haiti, but their status remained unclear Saturday.

Jeremy and Hollie Wardle had been working for years from their Bountiful home to adopt Gabrielle. But days before she was to fly from Haiti, Jan. 12's magnitude 7.0 earthquake brought everything to a halt. The Wardles previously had adopted two children from Haiti. They now have six.

A week ago, Jeremy set off to find Gabrielle when it became questionable whether her orphanage was getting food and water. He flew into the Dominican Republic and then trekked overland to Haiti.

"I said come hell or high water, I'm going to get her out of there," Jeremy said Saturday evening.

Fortunately, he hooked up with Johnson's St. George group, who helped them out of the Haitian chaos and horror.

"We're so happy," Hollie said. "We've seen miracle after miracle."

But other Haitian orphans bound for Utah were still waiting.

Chareyl Moyes of Ogden-based Wasatch International Adoptions, continued working through Haitian and U.S. authorities Saturday to get emigration papers for 60 orphans, some of whom have adoptive parents waiting in Utah and Idaho. But their plan for transportation out of Haiti fell apart Saturday.

A tentative agreement with the Church of Scientology to fly the Ogden group to the United States fell through, said Lori Rosenlof of Lehi. She and husband Brent Rosenlof have adopted two of the children.

Brent traveled to Haiti with the Ogden agency last week to help hasten adoptions that were already in the works before the calamity.

For days now, they have waited in long lines at the U.S. Embassy attempting to obtain exit papers for all 60 children, Lori Rosenlof said. They could be cleared for emigration by Tuesday.

The Rosenlofs are adopting Nathan, 2, and Jessica, 3. Jessica's whereabouts were still unclear Saturday, but Lori Rosenlof said she remains hopeful. A group had set off to look for the girl, who could be with a relative.

Lori Rosenlof continued to look for transportation options to get the children out of Haiti. She had conversations with Johnson's St. George group as well as with a representative of the Utah Department of Homeland Security.

On Friday, Gov. Gary Herbert offered to help in the Haiti aid effort. It remained unclear late Saturday if the state would transport the Ogden group's orphans out of Haiti.

csmart@sltrib.com

Countries: United States of America, Haiti

Organizations: Wasatch International Adoption