Captive Hutchings Not Forgotten

Roland Smith can’t forget the Spokane doctor who helped his daughter recover from a brain aneurysm.

Others who came to Spokane’s Riverfront Park on Monday night can’t forget the man they know as an avid mountain climber and supportive colleague.

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Lilac Bowl for more than an hour to send this message to hostage Donald Hutchings and his captors: He has not been forgotten.

Smith said his daughter was under Hutchings’ care at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute about four years ago when she learned to walk again.

“Thank him and thank God,” Smith said. “I owe him a lot as a father.”

Smith was shocked last year to see a newspaper photo of the captive Hutchings’ bandaged head.

Hutchings and his wife, Jane Schelly, were taken hostage by a rebel group called Al-Faran on July 4, 1995, while hiking in the Himalayan foothills. She was released the next day.

The militant Muslim group is seeking the independence of Kashmir from predominantly Hindu India.

At Monday’s vigil, colleagues, friends and one of Hutchings’ high school teachers shared their memories of him. They are keeping faith that he will return to Spokane to create more memories.

Bunches of yellow balloons decorated the stage, along with a banner that read, “We miss you Don!!! Come home soon.”

Thirteen signs were planted in front of the stage, with affectionate messages. “This is no way to get out of long-distance biking. We miss you,” read one.

Ron Klein hired Hutchings to work at Sacred Heart Medical Center in 1984. He remembered the neuropsychologist saying he liked to pool his vacation time, so he could go on exotic adventures.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Yes, that’s OK, as long as you come back,”’ Klein said. “He always did - until now.”

Ida Rowe-Dolphin recalled Hutchings as a pupil in one of her Shadle Park High School classes.

“He was always fairly quiet, always prepared, expressed himself well and was always a pleasure to have in class,” she said.

Schelly, who is in New Delhi pleading for Hutchings’ release, made a brief appearance via telephone. Sometimes, her voice broke with emotion as it boomed over loudspeakers.

“This year has been such a difficult year to endure. We have had reports of injury and illness, threats of death, and the uncertainty of not knowing what’s true,” Schelly said. “I know that this has been agonizing for you as well.”

Terry Waite, the Anglican mediator who was held hostage for five years in Beirut, had prepared a taped message for the crowd, reminding them that his family spent four years not knowing if he was alive.

“What I’ve always said and will say now is we can never give up,” said Waite, who was taken hostage in 1987.

The vigil ended with Sacred Heart Chaplain Jim Murphy leading the crowd in meditation as incense burned.

As the sun fell and mystical flute music floated softly in the air, Murphy lighted a candle. Then he spread the flame to candles held by others.

His 11-year-old daughter, Maren, rang a Tibetan prayer bell given to her family by Hutchings.

The crowd stood, holding long white candles, silently praying for their friend’s safe release.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo