Murphy couple missing after Nepal floods; frustration grows for family members

Frustrations are growing for the family members of Archana Suresh and Raghu Rajan, the second couple missing from North Texas, after a glacier collapsed, triggering deadly flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-Tibet border, last Wednesday. The couple is from Murphy, Texas.

"That is the Nepal-China border; they reached there the day before, and that was the last photo they shared with the family," said Divya Chandrashekar, their sister-in-law. "We're kind of frustrated, heartbroken at this point of time, we don't know, we feel so helpless."

Chandrashekar said the couple was on a religious pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They've lived in North Texas for more than 20 years and have two kids in college.

"They were extremely excited about this trip; they keep talking about it all the time," said Chandrashekar.

She said their phones last pinged near the friendship bridge around the time the disaster hit. The family is calling on the U.S. government to do more to help its citizens.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that they had enough time to get to a higher ground or something," Chandrashekar said.

The Nepalese Society of Texas is raising money for Nepal through the Prime Ministerial Disaster Fund. They have set up a GoFundMe to collect those funds.

"Please come out and help. This is the time to help the community, to Nepal, to people," said Bijay Bhusal, the president of the organization.

The group is also helping families expedite travel documents. It is also calling on the U.S. government to do more to help find missing Americans.

"This is not a one-day process, right now we're just seeing immediate reaction," said Baikuntha Thapa, chair of the group.

As the days pass, Suresh and Rajan's family is holding on to hope.

"We're just hoping a miracle happens, and all of them show up safe and sound," Chandrashekar said.