We just got home from a two-and-half week trip to Southeast Asia, catching an awful cold after we landed in San Franciso. That’s why I’ve been a little silent. The combination of jet lag and congestion/coughing/sore throat has not been fun to deal with, though we count our blessings that we rarely get sick.
The trip gave me lots to think about because we visited Singapore, Penang (Malaysia), and Saigon and Phu Quoc island in Vietnam. I met up with friends, ate a ton and had a terrific time. I’ll write about some of the stuff I experienced in the future but right now, a poignant incident sticks out in my mind.
While on Phu Quoc island, we took a drive to a small fishing town. Famished, my friend Cuong was looking for a banh beo (steamed rice pancake) vendor he’d spotted, and his pursuit of the vendor led us to a residential area. Seemingly out of nowhere, a man came up to me and said in Vietnamese, “Would you please help me with something?” He was so earnest (not a nut job) that I replied, “Of course.” I had no idea what he wanted but felt like I needed to hear his story.
He invited me into his very modest home (imagine a long single-car garage kind of space) and pulled up some plastic chairs, inviting me to sit down. The he explained his situation.
His name is Minh Hung Vo and he’s been looking for his missing sister, Thu Thi Vo, since the early 1990s. The last contact he had with her was through a letter sent in the above envelope. (I didn’t spot a router or computer in the home so it’s not like the family could Google the missing relative.) The return address is: Thu Thi Covey, 942 Beech Street, #202, San Diego, CA 92101.
In Saigon during the late 1960s, she met and eventually married a US military man and took his surname, Covey. They had a child and he brought her and the baby to the United States. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, she continued to write to her brother, sending photos of her home in San Diego and of her new baby named Karen. However, after 1991 she stopped writing. He has no idea what happened to her.
Minh Hung knows that his sister’s first marriage didn’t last and she eventually married a man named Jerry Allen Carman. I’m not sure of the spelling as Minh Hung wasn’t either. So Thu Thi Vo may be known as Thu Thi Covey or Thu Thi Carman.
Would I help Minh Hung find his sister? She’d be in her seventies now; he is sixty years old. He’d moved to Phu Quoc and she may not have known that and could not find his address to write. Or perhaps she passed away, he said rhetorically. Any information I could get for him would be much appreciated.
I tried looking up the various names online but couldn’t make any headway. Minh Hung has asked other people who passed through his town but no one has been able to help.
I realize that this is a total shot in the dark, but if you have leads, send them along. I snapped photos of the envelope and all the photos that Minh Hung had of his sister. And if we can find Thu Thi, I have her brother’s address in Vietnam. In fact, I have friends on Phu Quoc who will drive to Minh Hung’s town to deliver the good news. Thanks!
If you have experience with this kind of matter, please share your thoughts.
For an update on what happened, see this post on February 13, 2014.
KansasKate says
Her name is Thu Thi Vo, the 1991 return address says Thu Thi Covey, and her family thinks her 2nd husband is named Jerry Allen Carman (or Carmen?), and her daughter Karen would be 40+ years old. I would look for all those combinations of names. Marriage license applications & divorce decrees should be public records; so are many police and court records. Most libraries have city directories and old phone books; if not, a genealogy library would.
That address is an apartment building which can be found on Google maps street view. On real estate websites, apartment #111 and the phone 619-239-8357 is often listed; perhaps that's the building manager? Chances are she has moved since 1991, but it might be worth calling that number to check.
With any mailing address, you can always mail an envelope and above your return address, put "Notify Sender of Change of Address" -- if the address change wasn't too long ago, you might get the new address.
If you don't have any luck online or by phone, your best bet will be to find a volunteer in San Diego who can do the legwork there locally.
Good luck!
Sondi Hardy says
I found her in 1992 at this address: 501 7th Ave # 314, San Diego, California 92101 Address Date:01 Sep 1992. I'll keep looking and see what else I can dig up.
Sondi Hardy says
Did you get her birth year? I found a death record:
Given Name: Thu
Middle Name: Thi
Surname: Vo
Birth Date: 5 February 1926
State: Texas
Last Place of Residence: San bernardino, California
Previous Residence Postal Code: 92410
Event Date: 31 March 2007
Age:81
Sondi Hardy says
But the age looks wrong.
Tom says
Just a crazy shot in the dark but what about trying something like Ancestry.com. I would think sites like this have software geared toward all or most of the permutations for names, addresses, relatives etc.
Andrea good luck with your efforts to locate this man's sister and a speedy recovery to you. As one human being to another it warms the heart to see people trying to help another in this sometimes crazy world we live in.
Thank you!
Sondi Hardy says
I found some more records that might be her. This one has a phone number you might try to call. Looks like it was active in Dec 1993. Long shot but maybe?
Name: Thu Vo
Residence Date:01 Dec 1993
Residence Place: Anaheim, California, United States
Phone Number:(714) 750-6447
Phone Number Recorded Date: 01 Dec 1993
Address: 483 W Orangewood Ave
Address Continued: Anaheim, California 92802
Address Date: 01 Dec 1993
2nd Address: 1701 Pine Dr
2nd Address Continued:La Habra, California 90631
2nd Address Date: 01 May 1992
3rd Address: 31 Lanciano
3rd Address Continued:Santa Ana, California 92720
3rd Address Date:01 Feb 1991
JDG says
I bet if you posted this on Reddit or Ask Metafilter you would have her identified in one day. Imagine 500+ Sondi Hardy's on the case (PS great work Sondi).
Sondi Hardy says
I would be very helpful to know her birth year, the year of her daughter's birth, the year she came to the US, the first husband's first name, and anything he might know about the first or second husband. There are a lot of Thu Vo type records out there but I can't find any that see to reference that address he provided from the letter.
Andrea Nguyen says
Thank you!
Andrea Nguyen says
Cool, Sondi.
Andrea Nguyen says
Yeah, but the odd thing is that her brother wasn't quite sure of her age. Some times, people changed their age when they got to the U.S.
Andrea Nguyen says
Greatly appreciate the idea, Tom!
Andrea Nguyen says
Yup, the brother wasn't 100% clear on the details and I got all I could from him. The second husband may be named Jerry Allen Carman (Carmen).
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanks, Sondi! My voice is hoarse right now from the cold but I'll call later this week and see.
Sondi Hardy says
This birthday in 1946 is closer to what I would think is correct.
Name: Thu Thi Vo
Titles and Terms (Original):
Also Known As: Thu Luong
Residence Date: 01 Dec 1993-31 Dec 1996
Residence Place: Westminster, California, United States
Birth Date: 01 Sep 1946
Phone Number: (714) 531-2138
Phone Number Recorded Date: 25 Mar 2008
Address: 10475 Neal Dr # 12
Address Continued: Westminster, California 92683
Address Date: 01 Dec 1993-31 Dec 1996
2nd Address: 510 S Deming St
2nd Address Continued: Santa Ana, California 92704
2nd Address Date: 01 Oct 1992-25 Mar 2008
3rd Address: 14561 Abington Cir
3rd Address Continued: Westminster, California 92683
3rd Address Date: 01 Aug 1987-29 Oct 2007
Sondi Hardy says
And there is another phone number there from 2008.
Daniele says
I have a one year old that doesn't let me do anything AT ALL or I would help. I have been very good at finding people in the past. Finding the relatives is helpful, so maybe try finding the ex husbands, the daughter. Even finding the relatives of those people. They may be the pieces of the puzzle that are easier to find in order to find her. Good luck.:-)
Van Nguyen says
Coming out from lurking...
I know people use ancestry.com to locate relatives. I don't have an ancestry.com account, but if someone does, it might have helpful information.
Love your blog and books!
Sondi Hardy says
Andrea, did you try that apartment number for the last apartment she was in in 1991? 619-239-8357. I will if you have not.
Tuyet says
Hi there,
http://WWW.peoplefinders.com has one person name Thu Covey, listed in USA, she is 65 years old lives in San Diego. You have to pay to get the info.
Called 619-239-8357, disconnected phone.
Giovanna says
Andrea, if you or another of your followers are still following through on this request, I would be glad to pay for the report on peoplefinders.com for Thu Covey (Thu T. Covey on the website -- ."T" as in "Thi.") mentioned by Tuyet, and pass the information on. Please e-mail me if "yes."
Tuyet says
Hello Giovanna,
Yes, I will do the legwork since I live in San Diego. Please pay for the report.
Please do not post Thu T Covey current address, but provide to Andrea Nguyen, or directly email me through Andrea Nguyen.
Only one person name Thu T Covey in USA, she 65 years old. I think this is it.
Tuyet says
Andrea,
Just wanted to let you know that to date, I have no email regarding Thu Covey.
hector r says
this story really hits home with me and my family. my mother came to the US and when the north took over, my grandmother burned all information she had in regards to my mother and my aunt who also came to the US. in 1987 a woman who had immigrated to New Mexico went back to Vietnam, and my grandmother approached her and asked her if she could help find my mom. the woman agreed to ask anyone she knew, but was not very hopeful. my grandmother sent a picture with her of my mom, and the woman went back to New Mexico. This woman's husband was a US vet. at this time my moms childhood friend had planned to come to Arizona to visit my mom, her husband decided to visit one of his old army buddies on the way. his buddy lived in New Mexico. when the two ladies met, the woman from new mexico told my moms friend about my grandmothers story, and figured she would show her the picture. my mothers friend took one look at the picture and told the woman that she knew the girl in the picture and was in fact on her way to visit her. my moms friend came to Arizona, and told my mom the whole story, and was able to get back in touch with my grandmother. this connection was done before the internet, before cell phones, and all the tech that we have today. it makes me happy to see everyone trying to help out.
Andrea Nguyen says
Giovanna, what a generous offer. Looks like Tuyet is willing to do the leg work if we can find Mrs. Covey via PeopleGinder. Thank you for your generosity.
Andrea
Andrea Nguyen says
Hector, what a lovely story! You give us hope. Thank you for contributing your personal challenges and triumph.
Giovanna says
Hi, sorry for not responding on the blog (I didn't know to follow the thread). Interestingly, at the time I made the offer to purchase the report on peoplefinders.com, a result for Thu T Covey was easily found. Today, it doesn't exist on that site or on several other finder sites. I was able to find limited information on a couple of sites (it looks like the same information) -- addresses but no phone #. I paid extra for enhanced search and did not recover any family, associates, or aliases information. I also entered Thu/Thu Thi Carmen and Carman with no results.
I wish it were more
Sondi Hardy says
did this get done? Did you find her?
Andrea Nguyen says
We're working on it. She may have passed and I'm working on verifying it. Thanks for your interest, Sondi. I hope to have an update for everyone soon.
Sondi Hardy says
Andrea,
It would be sad if that is the case, but maybe we can track down her daughter? It would be nice to let her know she still has an uncle out there. Maybe we could request a copy of the death certificate and it might have an address for next of kin?