When will our government step in to help?

Jake Velleman, son of Debra Velleman, 70, a retired public school teacher who went missing off the coast of Panama following a plane crash, asks "when will our government step in to help?"

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) reported Jan 20, 2022 - Debra Velleman, 70, of Waukesha, and Sue Borries, 57, of Teutopolis, Illinois, have been missing since Jan. 3 when their plane went down off the coast of Panama. 

While search efforts continue, they’ve been unsuccessful, and the family is once again calling on the U.S. government to help. 

"The Panamanians...are now enlisting the help of local shrimper boats to drag nets," Jake Velleman,  explained in a video posted to Facebook. "Our family is in pain, we are grieving, and we cannot properly grieve until we recover our loved ones."

According to a family spokesperson, Governor Tony Evers, senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Congressman Scott Fitzgerald have all opened inquiries with the Department of Defense and the State Department but have not received a response from either agency.

"Why have we not heard from our government? Why are they not coming to our aid?," Jake Velleman said in the video. "This is not a complex, deep-sea operation. The plane will be found. The question is, when will our government step in to help?"