UPDATE: Ben Stevenson and the friend he was traveling with have safely made their way to the airport. Stevenson’s mother, Rachel Uhrick, has informed Current he is currently on a plane flying home
By Sadie Hunter
A Noblesville mother’s mind and heart is resting easier today after finding out her son, Ben Stevenson, 24, is safe in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico after Hurricane Patricia made landfall Oct. 23.
The 2010 Noblesville High School graduate left for Puerto Vallarta from his home in San Francisco, Calif. last week, Oct. 17, for a week-long vacation with a friend.
Stevenson’s mother, Rachel Uhrick of Noblesville, said her son wasn’t aware of the storm’s severity until her text messages of news reports prompted him to start asking questions.
“There was no warning or anything, and he couldn’t leave,” Uhrick said. “Where he’s at in Puerto Vallarta, they told him to evacuate, so he said they just had to try to start walking, that everyone was scrambling, and it was chaotic. They were told to go back, that the roads and airports were closed.”
Uhrick said at that point, Stevenson, his friend and other American citizens who they had met up with “went into survival mode.”
“They were very resourceful. They made a plan, and they were well aware of what was going on. They got food, bottled water and tape (for windows). Ben is bilingual, so that was a blessing, thanks to Noblesville Schools.”
When Uhrick new it wouldn’t be possible for Stevenson to leave, she began making calls to the U.S. Consulate, Foreign Affairs and Red Cross. But they all told her the same thing; She’d have to wait until the storm had made landfall before they would be able to do anything.
“They just told me all they could do for me was to have me call back tomorrow because it hadn’t hit yet. That’s when we said, ‘Okay, he’s going to have to be a survivor,’ He’s an intelligent young man. They were already in survival mode.”
Upon landfall though, the eye of the storm, once projected to directly hit Puerto Vallarta, went just south of the city.
“It got bad, but none of the glass in their building broke,” said Uhrick, who said she was able to text back and forth with Stevenson throughout the entire storm. “The eye itself went a little bit south of where they were, so they got extremely lucky.”
The airport in Puerto Vallarta has since been reopened, and Stevenson and his friend are currently making attempts to get there safely. The airport has guaranteed their flight back to the United States.
Uhrick said Stevenson moved to San Francisco two years ago after accepting a job offer in corporate banking. Throughout high school, he worked at a local Key Bank branch.
“The poor kid works so hard. He’s been in school so much and working since he was in high school, and he was just on a much needed vacation,” she said.
Stevenson was scheduled to leave today (Oct. 24).
“Now we’re just worried about flooding and mudslides,” Uhrick said. “The waiting is the hardest part. He said it was a miracle. It’s overwhelming, and they’re very thankful. I took his messages as, not disbelief, but I guess in shock that they’re okay and nothing bad has happened. He said he’s just so thankful and appreciates all the people calling. He wants everyone to know that he’s thankful for their thoughts, prayers and support. Right now, he says it’s a beautiful day and the sun is shining.”
