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Breaking the �conspiracy of silence� Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell State and local media descend on Mike Derry, brother of hostage Steve Derry, outside the gates of Erickson Air-Crane in Central Point Wednesday. Family and friends of Steve Derry and two other Gold Hill Erickson employees held hostage in Ecuador staged a rally in part to draw media attention to the plight of the hostages. Rally aims for national audience By Melissa Martin CENTRAL POINT � In a peaceful demonstration that drew a pack of statewide media, about 50 family, friends and community members gathered Wednesday to remember the three Gold Hill helicopter mechanics held hostage in Ecuador. "I feel like if these guys were politicians or a senator�s son, some action would be taken," said J.W. Raybourne, a retired steam-fitter welder from Rogue River who attended the rally. Portland TV stations make trek to Central Point to cover rally CENTRAL POINT � A dozen reporters attended Wednesday�s rally, some of whom drove five hours to cover a story that will be aired or published across the country. KGW Northwest News Channel 8 and Fox 49 News of Portland brought down trucks that carried portable television stations, complete with powerful satellites to instantly beam the story around the world. "We�re a television station on wheels," said John Waikart, satellite news gathering truck engineer from Fox 49. The crew films and edits the story inside the truck�s control room and then transmits it to Portland via a satellite that�s about 29,000 miles up in the sky. A story with as much news value as the Oregon hostage crisis will be added to a national feed of stories that networks can choose to broadcast throughout the day, Waikart said. "This is an issue that�s close to home for Oregonians," said Janelle Wang, a reporter for Fox 49 KPDX, who traveled from Portland to cover the story. "It�s a tense situation right now." On Monday, KOIN Television Channel 6 of Portland sent a satellite crew to Gold Hill to broadcast live interviews with family and friends of the hostages. It�s not often that Medford�s three local television stations set up cameras and satellites alongside metropolitan crews, according to Mark Dowd, a reporter with KTVL Channel 10. "But I�m not surprised, because this is a big story and a lot of networks will be showing it." "We have the ability, the knowledge and equipment to go in there and free them. I served in the special forces in Vietnam back in the �60s, and they could get one of my old teams or a Navy Seal team and bring our boys home." He echoed the concerns of frustrated friends and community members who attended the Central Point rally held outside the Erickson Air-Crane headquarters, which closed for the day at 10 a.m. and sent employees home. The demonstration was sponsored by friends of Steve Derry, one of four Erickson employees kidnapped 119 days ago by armed criminals while working in oil fields in the Amazon jungle. Held hostage with Derry are Erickson employees Jason Weber, Gold Hill, Arnold Alford, Gold Hill, and Dennis Corrin, New Zealand, along with oil workers from Wyoming, Argentina and Chile. Kidnappers last week killed hostage Ronald Sander, of Missouri, prompting family members across the country to break their silence and begin talking to reporters about the tense situation. When Mike Derry, a Medford resident and Steve Derry�s brother, arrived at Erickson Wednesday to join the peaceful protest, he stood outside locked security gates at the company that supplies helicopter crews and equipment to job sites around the world. Mike Derry has been allowed on the Erickson campus weekly since the Oct. 12 kidnapping to sit down with company executives and discuss the status of the case. But since he broke an Erickson rule against talking to the media last Friday, he hasn�t heard from Erickson. "I�m the bad guy now," Mike Derry told a pack of reporters swarming him with cameras and notebooks. "If you go to a doctor and don�t get what you need, wouldn�t you seek a second opinion?" Derry asked. "That�s what I�m trying to do. I can�t say it will make a difference. I can only hope it will make a difference. If we can make a deal and get Steve home, then I want to make a deal." Friends of Derry said they sponsored the rally partly to capture the attention of televisions and newspapers across the country to prevent the hostage crisis from being forgotten. "We wanted to get on the national media, and it worked," said Marilou Crowell of Rogue River. She said network news programs "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes II" called the rally�s organizers for interviews. The hostage crisis is ready for national media attention, said Lorraine Parks of Grants Pass, a friend of the Derry family. "I had people asking me yesterday, �What country are the hostages in?� " she said. "There�s been this conspiracy of silence." Erickson Air-Crane chief operating officer Lee Ramage, however, said silence protects the hostages. Erickson and two other companies work daily with governments and other agencies to resolve the crisis. "We know the community shares our single goal of bringing all the hostages back as quickly and safely as possible," Ramage said. "We certainly appreciate the community support, united behind this goal, but feel that some of the recent actions by a small segment, however well-intentioned, are misguided and can only serve to send a message of division to the kidnappers." Among the youngest sign-holders at the rally was Katlyn Monteleone, 11, of Rogue River, who got out of school early Wednesday to show support for the hostages. "I think President Bush should pay the ransom," Monteleone said, referring to a reported $12 to $80 million demand the kidnappers have made to the hostages� employers. "The family can�t afford to pay for it." Mark Baird of Gold Hill showed his support by handing Mike Derry a check to be used for expenses the family occurs in trying to gain Steve Derry�s release. Baird said he doesn�t believe in paying ransoms, so he wouldn�t contribute to a fund created by friends called "Ecuador Hostage Fund," set up at U.S. Bank, 1242 Court St., Medford. "I know the family will make the decisions that are best for themselves," Baird said. "I want them to know that the community is out here behind them, supporting them." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.