Christopher smart The Salt Lake Tribune
Jan. 24--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.
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