New York:
The desperate quest to find loved ones started just minutes after the massive Haiti quake, as cell phones rang unanswered from beneath the rubble of Haiti's best hotel.
While a lucky few were eventually rescued, many more perished when the hotel crumbled within seconds.
The AP reconstructed the few hours after the quake, when the search went online with a Facebook page dedicated to the Hotel Montana, created by three siblings in Long Island looking for their missing uncle, who was supposed to be staying at the hotel.
As the days passed and the death toll climbed, the number of members on the page grew until it reached over 16000 thousand people from around the world.
Elizabeth Fuentes said she is proud of the facebook site.
"I think it's just beautiful; I mean we have like 16 thousand, 17 thousand people from all over the world writing in different languages and I think for people to be able to post a picture or prayer about their loved ones that's passed away and have 80 people responding saying we are here with you, we love you, we're thinking of this person," Said Elizabeth Fuentes.
Her sister Caitlin Fuentes said a few days after they created the site, she started feeling the weight of this colossal responsibility on her shoulders.
"I was driving home from JFK and I was listening to a song on the radio and I lost it; I just couldn't even handle it. Cause I just felt I had everyone on my shoulders you know," said Caitlin Fuentes.
Stephanie Crispinelli,a 19-year-old- sophomore from Lynn University, was staying at the hotel. She was part of a Lynn University group doing relief work in Haiti.
The Crispinellis from Katonah, New York are continuing their daughter's legacy, through a school they built in Jamaica.
Sometime in February, the searchers found Stephanie Crispinelli's journal. Her last entry describes the poverty she saw and how she wanted to help. Her flowing script ends in mid-sentence.
"We just keep on telling ourselves that if Stephanie is looking down upon us, if she knows that her death destroys us and that we can't get out of bed, we can't function, she would be devastated. We just can't have that," said Stephanie's mother.
The Gianacacis also lost their daughter, Christine, another Lynn University student.
Just like the Crispinellis, the Gianacacis are also continuing their daughter's legacy to help disenfranchised children.
In fact, all Lynn University families who lost their daughters to the earthquake have started organizations to help poor and disadvantaged children.
"In this horrific tragedy of losing our daughters we have already helped all these children, going forward will help thousands and millions of children in our lifetimes. With these four foundations these parents, when we could have all gone to bed and not come out of our houses, this is 5 months, 6 months down the road from losing our children."
Bob Allen the moderator of the site, believes the facebook page played a significant role in bringing all 51 members home. "They brought so much political pressure because of this union on this page. If they hadn't been here, I honestly do not believe that we would have found all 51 members."
Thousands continue to visit the site to remember the girls' legacy of hope.
While a lucky few were eventually rescued, many more perished when the hotel crumbled within seconds.
The AP reconstructed the few hours after the quake, when the search went online with a Facebook page dedicated to the Hotel Montana, created by three siblings in Long Island looking for their missing uncle, who was supposed to be staying at the hotel.
As the days passed and the death toll climbed, the number of members on the page grew until it reached over 16000 thousand people from around the world.
Elizabeth Fuentes said she is proud of the facebook site.
"I think it's just beautiful; I mean we have like 16 thousand, 17 thousand people from all over the world writing in different languages and I think for people to be able to post a picture or prayer about their loved ones that's passed away and have 80 people responding saying we are here with you, we love you, we're thinking of this person," Said Elizabeth Fuentes.
Her sister Caitlin Fuentes said a few days after they created the site, she started feeling the weight of this colossal responsibility on her shoulders.
"I was driving home from JFK and I was listening to a song on the radio and I lost it; I just couldn't even handle it. Cause I just felt I had everyone on my shoulders you know," said Caitlin Fuentes.
Stephanie Crispinelli,a 19-year-old- sophomore from Lynn University, was staying at the hotel. She was part of a Lynn University group doing relief work in Haiti.
The Crispinellis from Katonah, New York are continuing their daughter's legacy, through a school they built in Jamaica.
Sometime in February, the searchers found Stephanie Crispinelli's journal. Her last entry describes the poverty she saw and how she wanted to help. Her flowing script ends in mid-sentence.
"We just keep on telling ourselves that if Stephanie is looking down upon us, if she knows that her death destroys us and that we can't get out of bed, we can't function, she would be devastated. We just can't have that," said Stephanie's mother.
The Gianacacis also lost their daughter, Christine, another Lynn University student.
Just like the Crispinellis, the Gianacacis are also continuing their daughter's legacy to help disenfranchised children.
In fact, all Lynn University families who lost their daughters to the earthquake have started organizations to help poor and disadvantaged children.
"In this horrific tragedy of losing our daughters we have already helped all these children, going forward will help thousands and millions of children in our lifetimes. With these four foundations these parents, when we could have all gone to bed and not come out of our houses, this is 5 months, 6 months down the road from losing our children."
Bob Allen the moderator of the site, believes the facebook page played a significant role in bringing all 51 members home. "They brought so much political pressure because of this union on this page. If they hadn't been here, I honestly do not believe that we would have found all 51 members."
Thousands continue to visit the site to remember the girls' legacy of hope.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
