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American Morning

Interview with Jacob Young, Barbara Young

Aired October 15, 2002 - 07:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In the wake of the Bali bombings, that former all-American football player is still listed as missing. Jake Young is his name. He played at the University of Nebraska back in the late '80s.
He's 34, married, with a 2-year-old son, and was visiting the Indonesian island to play in a rugby tournament there.

His parents, Barbara and Jacob Young, live in Midland, Texas, and earlier this morning, I talked with them and asked them about what they have heard now about the whereabouts of their son, Jake, in the past few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACOB YOUNG, FATHER OF JAKE YOUNG: We received a call late last night from the Hong Kong Football Club, telling us that they had people on the ground working with members of the State Department in Bali. They were trying to make identifications, and would hopefully, you know, have something later today.

This is the most recent that we have. The State Department has been contacting our daughter-in-law on a regular basis, as have Congressman Osborne's office, and many other people who are trying to help us. But at this point, we're just waiting for additional information.

HEMMER (on camera): Mr. Young, did they find your son's passport? Is that confirmed?

J. YOUNG: We have never had any confirmation of that, sir. I have seen that on the TV, but we have no knowledge of that one way or another.

HEMMER: Mrs. Young, what was the last contact you have with your son?

BARBARA YOUNG, MOTHER OF JAKE YOUNG: I believe he called on Tuesday. His wife had left and was on her way back to the States with Wilson (ph), because they were moving back to Kansas City. And he was going to stay and go to the rugby tournament, and then he was going to return, and he would have been on his way home today.

HEMMER: Had you worried about your son living overseas with his wife and son, your grandson?

B. YOUNG: No, we didn't worry. He said he felt very safe, but I guess, you know, that's just one of these things, you never know when you're safe.

HEMMER: When did you get word of the explosion in Bali?

J. YOUNG: We got a call -- actually, I initially saw it -- the first information I saw was on the CNN home page on the Internet late Saturday night, and was concerned. The first really concrete information we had or noticed we had involving our son was Sunday morning about 6:45 or 7:00. We received a call from our daughter, who had been called by his wife, saying that she had heard about the explosion. She had been unable to contact him, and she had contacted the Hong Kong Football Club, who confirmed that many of their members were missing in Bali.

HEMMER: Wow! It's been two days since that point, Mr. Young. How has the last 48 hours been for you?

J. YOUNG: I think it's been extremely difficult for us. We're simply sitting and waiting. We don't know anything. We understand, as I mentioned earlier, everybody is doing everything they can. The support from the University of Nebraska, the coaching staff, the people in Nebraska, the people here in our community, has just been beyond what you could imagine. But at this point, we're just sitting and waiting.

HEMMER: Oh, I bet. Mrs. Young, your son's wife and son, your grandson, as I mentioned before, are already in the process of moving to the Kansas City area. How are they doing right now? You mentioned there was constant contact from the State Department. How are they?

B. YOUNG: Well, they're not well. She's a very strong person, but this is more than she ever planned on happening in her life at such an early age, and her whole life has been altered. And she's just, you know -- I don't know. In limbo describes her state, but she's really having a hard time, as are we all. We're just praying that we can find a solution.

HEMMER: To the both of you, what do you want the country to know about your son?

J. YOUNG: I think we'd like to say, you know, Jake and -- you know, we're grieving over our son, but we understand that there are hundreds of other families involved in this same thing, who are grieving over their missing sons or daughters just as we are.

But we -- you know, Jake was an outstanding young man. He was a young man who tried to be the best at everything he did, whether it be academics, athletics, whatever. He had become -- was a wonderful father to his young son. And I guess I would just sum it up by saying he was a son you would always hope to have.

HEMMER: Our prayers are with you. Countless thoughts going your way to Midland, Texas, OK.

Jake and Barbara Young, thanks for your time.

B. YOUNG: Thank you. J. YOUNG: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 15, 2002 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In the wake of the Bali bombings, that former all-American football player is still listed as missing. Jake Young is his name. He played at the University of Nebraska back in the late '80s.
He's 34, married, with a 2-year-old son, and was visiting the Indonesian island to play in a rugby tournament there.

His parents, Barbara and Jacob Young, live in Midland, Texas, and earlier this morning, I talked with them and asked them about what they have heard now about the whereabouts of their son, Jake, in the past few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACOB YOUNG, FATHER OF JAKE YOUNG: We received a call late last night from the Hong Kong Football Club, telling us that they had people on the ground working with members of the State Department in Bali. They were trying to make identifications, and would hopefully, you know, have something later today.

This is the most recent that we have. The State Department has been contacting our daughter-in-law on a regular basis, as have Congressman Osborne's office, and many other people who are trying to help us. But at this point, we're just waiting for additional information.

HEMMER (on camera): Mr. Young, did they find your son's passport? Is that confirmed?

J. YOUNG: We have never had any confirmation of that, sir. I have seen that on the TV, but we have no knowledge of that one way or another.

HEMMER: Mrs. Young, what was the last contact you have with your son?

BARBARA YOUNG, MOTHER OF JAKE YOUNG: I believe he called on Tuesday. His wife had left and was on her way back to the States with Wilson (ph), because they were moving back to Kansas City. And he was going to stay and go to the rugby tournament, and then he was going to return, and he would have been on his way home today.

HEMMER: Had you worried about your son living overseas with his wife and son, your grandson?

B. YOUNG: No, we didn't worry. He said he felt very safe, but I guess, you know, that's just one of these things, you never know when you're safe.

HEMMER: When did you get word of the explosion in Bali?

J. YOUNG: We got a call -- actually, I initially saw it -- the first information I saw was on the CNN home page on the Internet late Saturday night, and was concerned. The first really concrete information we had or noticed we had involving our son was Sunday morning about 6:45 or 7:00. We received a call from our daughter, who had been called by his wife, saying that she had heard about the explosion. She had been unable to contact him, and she had contacted the Hong Kong Football Club, who confirmed that many of their members were missing in Bali.

HEMMER: Wow! It's been two days since that point, Mr. Young. How has the last 48 hours been for you?

J. YOUNG: I think it's been extremely difficult for us. We're simply sitting and waiting. We don't know anything. We understand, as I mentioned earlier, everybody is doing everything they can. The support from the University of Nebraska, the coaching staff, the people in Nebraska, the people here in our community, has just been beyond what you could imagine. But at this point, we're just sitting and waiting.

HEMMER: Oh, I bet. Mrs. Young, your son's wife and son, your grandson, as I mentioned before, are already in the process of moving to the Kansas City area. How are they doing right now? You mentioned there was constant contact from the State Department. How are they?

B. YOUNG: Well, they're not well. She's a very strong person, but this is more than she ever planned on happening in her life at such an early age, and her whole life has been altered. And she's just, you know -- I don't know. In limbo describes her state, but she's really having a hard time, as are we all. We're just praying that we can find a solution.

HEMMER: To the both of you, what do you want the country to know about your son?

J. YOUNG: I think we'd like to say, you know, Jake and -- you know, we're grieving over our son, but we understand that there are hundreds of other families involved in this same thing, who are grieving over their missing sons or daughters just as we are.

But we -- you know, Jake was an outstanding young man. He was a young man who tried to be the best at everything he did, whether it be academics, athletics, whatever. He had become -- was a wonderful father to his young son. And I guess I would just sum it up by saying he was a son you would always hope to have.

HEMMER: Our prayers are with you. Countless thoughts going your way to Midland, Texas, OK.

Jake and Barbara Young, thanks for your time.

B. YOUNG: Thank you. J. YOUNG: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.