OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK – Mary O’Brien’s relatives, three of whom joined the search for her, never gave up hope that she was safe.
Earlier Saturday, the day O’Brien walked out of Olympic National Park, her sister Anne O’Brien wore a dark blue T-shirt with the word “Believe” written across the front in Boston Red Sox typeface at a search and rescue briefing at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort.
The shirt was a gift in 2004 from her sister Mary when the underdog baseball team was battling the New York Yankees for a come-back win of the World Series.
Wearing it was a way of showing faith that her sister would be found alive and well.
“I think she’s working her way out,” Anne O’Brien said during the morning briefing.
Mary’s brother, Gerry O’Brien of Portland, Ore., came to the park on Wednesday, the first day of the search.
Anne O’Brien and her husband, Marc Spiegelman, flew from New York to Seattle on Friday.
The rest of the family is in Malden, Mass.
They had planned a family reunion on Cape Cod before O’Brien’s disappearance.
O’Brien’s family members were given a low-priority trail to look over – the Mink Lake Trail.
Involving O’Brien’s relatives in the search was a delicate decision, said Larry Nickey, the park’s fire management officer and incident commander of the search.
“We normally try not to involve the family . . . because it is very emotional for them and for the searchers,” Nickey said.
“This particular family is very strong. They’re a hiking family.”
