Since May 5 Jonathan Hibler's brother, Marine Sergeant James Hibler, has been in Nepal helping the victims of the deadly earthquake that hit the area last month.
Before word spread that a U.S. Marine helicopter disappeared in Nepal this week, the 30-year-old University of North Texas graduate had been in contact with family as much as possible.
He sent his brother pictures of the work he's doing in Nepal. There are pictures of him acting as crew chief on a helicopter and also passing out candy to children. But at the time the helicopter went down, his brother realized it had been two days since he had received a text or email from Sergeant Hibler.
"It put me through just a roller coaster of emotions," said Jonathan Hibler.
"When they only have a couple of helicopters from their squadron and you hear that one goes down, you don't know what to think," he said. "There's a 50-percent chance he could have been on that helicopter."
While he felt in his gut that his brother was OK, for an entire day, he and his parents waited anxiously to hear some news.
Then at 6 a.m. Wednesday he received a brief text that said, "I'm OK. I'm on the SAR bird today. I love you."
"My heart came back to where it was supposed to be," Hibler said. "And it's been a rough night. A long night. I didn't get much sleep."
Even though he got the news he wanted to hear, it's not the only news he's been waiting for.
"We still have to keep our thoughts and prayers out for family members who are still waiting on word for their loved ones," Hibler said.
It was reported Wednesday morning the helicopter has been spotted, but the defense department later denied those reports.
The Pentagon said no flames, smoke, a hole in the ground, or an emergency beacon have been spotted.
Sergeant Hibler's brother said it's still unclear if his brother was ever on the downed copter, but said he had information that relatives of the missing had been notified by the military.
