Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News
MARRERO, La. ― Nine days after Shane Fell mysteriously disappeared, complete strangers are joining in the search.
Geina Taylor was so compelled by Fell's story that she has been posting fliers and driving to hospitals with a family she'd never met before.
"Because tomorrow it could be me,” Taylor said. “And I would want somebody to feel the same way that I feel to this family. Because we all are New Orleans, we're, especially after the storm, we should know how it is to bond with each other.”
Fell, 36, went missing after his car flipped near a curve on River Road at Marrero Road just after midnight June 10th. He spoke with his brother, Brett, on the phone just after the crash. But when his brother and police arrived minutes later, the only trace of Fell was a single shoe.
No one has heard from him since.
"None of this makes sense," Brett Fell said. "That's why we're hanging on to hope that he's out there somewhere, definitely that someone knows something that's not coming forward."
The family has set up a blue tent on River Road and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority- West has allowed searchers to use their building to cool off and store food and water.
Starting early Sunday, a group of about 30 searchers combed the woods at Klein Street and River Road near the crash site. But they found no trace of Fell.
"We really don't know, we don't have a clue, and that's what's hurting us right now, because the unknown is just tearing us up," said Amber Fell, Shane’s sister-in-law.
This weekend, a volunteer search team out of Texas called Equusearch also joined in. The founder of Equusearch, Tim Miller, said this is one of the most perplexing missing persons cases he's seen.
He said he doubts Fell wound up in the Mississippi River and is instead working to get satellite images of the area from NASA in hopes they could lead to Fell.
Equusearch plans to meet with Jefferson Parish officials Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the outpouring of help continues.
"It means the world to me," Amber Fell said. "Shane is a great guy and he deserves it. He deserves all of our time and effort and to see that people want to help us find him, it touches our hearts tremendously."
"It means a lot," Brett Fell said. "I know today's Father's Day, and a lot of people are giving their days up with their family to come be with ours."
It's a family that's inspired Taylor, even as she's helping them.
"I'm learning from them. They might not know they're teaching me something, but I am," Taylor said. "To love. How close of a knit family that they are. Matter of fact, my family's getting together for a reunion, because of this family."
