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Stuart Breisch has spent countless hours walking along the beach where his daughter Kali was last seen alive. He has inspected the bodies of thousands of people killed from the tsunami that ravaged the coasts of Thailand and South Asia hoping to find his little girl. Pain, loss and destruction have been present at every turn.
Yet his heart is filled with love and gratitude - fueled by the kindness and generosity shown to him and his family by the Thai people, said Joni Glynn, Kali's aunt, who has spoken with Breisch regularly since the ordeal began more than a week ago.
"He is floating around in a bubble of love. The energy of the people there is really what's sustained him this week," Glynn said.
His desire to find his missing daughter is now matched by his drive to tell the world how much help is needed in a region where more than 150,000 are feared dead and 5 million are estimated to be homeless. His message will be relayed on today's broadcast of "Good Morning America" as Breisch and Diane Sawyer are expected to cover the ground where Kali Breisch, 15, was last seen alive.
Kali and her brother Jai, 16, were in a hut at the Emerald Beach Resort in Khao Lak when the first wave from the tsunami struck the shore. The two were swept away by the wall of water. Jai survived the blast with cuts, bruises and a leg injury. Kali has not been seen since.
Stuart Breisch, daughter Shonti, 18, and fiancée Sally Nelson, of San Diego, were on a dive boat off shore and survived the tsunami. The three spent a week combing the area around the resort for Kali before heading to Bangkok, where Jai was taken for the treatment of his wounds.
"As they left Khao Lak, Shonti said to her dad, 'I feel like we just left hell,' " Glynn said.
Worried about his son's health, Stuart Breisch was anxious to get the group back into the United States. But doctors in Bangkok say Jai's leg is healing well. With the threat of Jai's health not as much of a pressing concern, Stuart Breisch, accompanied by Shonti and Nelson, have returned to Khao Lak to again look for Kali and also share with the world their experience.
"Stu does not want this to be about him," Glynn said. "This is not about one family. It's about the whole world."
Glynn said Stuart Breisch's return to Khao Lak is his first step at repaying the community in which he has been living for the last week for everything that they have given him.
A doctor, a shaman, and a man filled with light and love, Breisch is anxious to shift public perception from the death side to the life side of things, Glynn said.
The search for Kali is not over, but the likelihood of finding her alive is slim.
"He has not considered her gone quite yet. I can't say that he has accepted that. If she has left this plane, she's with her mom," Glynn said, adding that many friends and family have taken comfort with the thought that Kali and her mother, who died 13 years ago, may now be together.
There is still uncertainty as to when the four will come home.
A Web site where people can contribute to the disaster relief effort will be working today at http://www.forkali.org.