Reward offered in monk's disappearance

The family of a 64-year-old monk reported missing from a Washington state monastery is offering a reward for information leading to his recovery.

Geshe Dadul Namgyal, a senior monk at Sravasti Abbey in Newport, was reported missing after he failed to show up for a buddhist prayer ceremony Nov. 7.

Dadul Namgyal was last seen was wearing his monk's maroon robes and a maroon jacket. Abbey officials said he was last seen at Country Lane, located off Spring Valley Road, on Tuesday, Nov. 7. 

Though not substantiated, there have been possible sightings Nov. 9 near Newport and Sandpoint. 

Thubten Chonyi, one of the senior nuns at the abbey, said Dadul Namgyal's family is offering a reward of up to $25,000 cash for information leading to his recovery.

As soon as Dadul Namgyal was reported missing, the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office began search the area surrounding the monastery's 300-acre property, using drones, trained canines and a helicopter.

Dozens of search and rescue volunteers along with residents of the abbey helped as well. A professional tracker, Burke Bryant with HARPS Rescue, volunteered his services and has been examining the area by horseback, abbey official said. 

Chonyi said Geshe La was almost always early to their meetings, so it was concerning to everyone at the abbey when he failed to show up.

“He had suggested to someone that he would like to go out for a walk even though the weather was kind of crummy,” Chonyi said earlier. “So we assumed he went out for a walk and got turned around or something happened.”

A prominent scholar in Tibetan Buddhism, Dadul Namgyal has a doctorate in Buddhism and philosophy from the Drepung Monastic University. He also holds a master’s degree in English literature from Panjab University in Chandigarh, India.

The author of several articles on Buddhism, Geshe La served as a philosophy professor at Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarnath, Varanasi, India, as well as the spiritual director of LSLK Tibetan Buddhist Center in Knoxville, Tenn.

Across the globe, monastic communities from Atlanta to India have been holding services on behalf of Geshe La. Now the abbey is asking Bonner County residents to keep an eye out for him and report any potential sightings to Sravasti Abbey or the sheriff’s department.

If anyone has any information on Geshe Dadul Namgyal or what might have happened, they are asked to contact the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office at 509-477-3151.

    Geshe Dadul Namgyal