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Amanda Butterfield reporting The father of Hser Nay Moo says he is thankful for all of those who have taken time to look for his daughter. He also went on to talk about how his family came to America and settled in Utah.
The family is from halfway across the world, a region called Karen in Burma--a country also known as Myanmar. It's in the mountain ranges of eastern Burma and northwestern Thailand.
Her father, Cartoon Wah, has this message if anyone has his daughter: "If somebody has her, all I ask is they return my daughter to me."
Hser Nay Moo belongs to a family of seven. Her mother just had another baby.
"She was a very smart girl, very bright," Cartoon Wah said of his daughter. He says she's never run away before, and they have no idea where she is.
"At night we always sleep together in the same bed, together as a family, and none of us have been able to sleep because we are worried about the situation," Cartoon Wah said.
The family has lived here since the summer, brought to America by the Catholic Community Services Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Division. "We've been working with the family since they arrived," explained Aden Batar, with Catholic Community Services.
Since her disappearance, all Burmese refugees in the area have been asked if they have information. So far, nothing.
It's been tricky communicating with the family because of the language barrier. "The family speaks a dialect called Karen, that's the part of Burma they are from," Batar explained.
Even when the father talked with Eyewitness News, two interpreters were needed. He told us about his family's hard past. "We come from Burma, lots of trials in our lives, then we come to America and it happens again," he said.
Cartoon Wah says his family fled Burma, fearing for their lives. They relocated in Thailand then came here, where he thought his family would be safe.
"She's never been a girl who hated anybody or was hated by anyone else. So, I don't know who or what could have done this to her," Cartoon Wah said.
Police do not know if Hser Nay Moo ran away or was kidnapped. They're still working on it, and volunteers are searching the neighborhoods.
Cartoon Wah says he's grateful for everyone's help because, right now, his family is at a loss. "Right now, all of our strength has been weakening. We don't know what we can do," he said.
The refugee resettlement program, which helped the family settle here, has also helped them find jobs. Both parents work, and the children attend public school.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
