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Missing Doctor
Thursday
October 18, 2001
It became a familiar site: homemade posters covered almost every inch of New York City following the terrorist attack. Family members scoured the streets and went on TV searching for any sign of their lost loved ones.
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To help find his missing sister, John Philip pleaded on the local news. He told WABC his brave sister, Dr. Sneha Philip, headed into the towers after the attack. He said, I was on the phone with her and she told me she couldn't leave because there were people who were hurt. She said, I have to help this person, and that's the last thing I heard from her.
A tragic story. The only problem is, it isn't true. In the wake of such world changing drama, why would he do such a thing? He says, I couldn't give the story that she's been missing since September 10th, that you know. I had to give a story that was gonna get her on!
You see Sneha is missing, but she disappeared the day before the tragic events. In the confusion and hysteria of that day, her story seemed to get lost in the shuffle. He says, The controversy of it did create more media attention, and that's the most important part.
John says it was the only way Sneha's story would stand out. He admits it was wrong, but an act of desperation. Her husband, Dr. Ron Lieberman, is desperate too. He says, At about 11:30, I left to go to work and we hugged and kissed and said I love you, and that was the last time that I spoke with her or saw her.
It was a fairytale romance. Ron and Sneha met in medical school, fell in love, got married, and were planning a family. Ron says there is no reason in the world she would intentionally disappear. He says, I try to consider every single possibility. My first gut feeling was that she was kidnapped.
So, is this a random mystery or are these two events connected? The couple did live just a few blocks from the Trade Center and Sneha was last seen shopping at the Century 21 department store across from the towers. Ron says, We hired a private investigator checked all credit cards, tried to get our phone records, [put flyers up all over] the city, and called every single friend we could.
Witnesses say the young doctor was last spotted with an unknown Indian woman. Ron says he spends every waking moment searching and her mom prays. The family holds onto hope but one question remains: what happened to Dr. Sneha Philip?
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