(NECN: Josh Brogadir, Rutland, Mass.) - The parents of Britney Gengel will finally have the chance to bury their daughter, killed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that left much of Haiti in devastation more than a month ago.
The Rutland couple learned her body had been found in rubble of the Hotel Montana, receiving the phone call Sunday morning.
And in a statement Sunday evening, they said that 'thank you' doesn't seem enough to say to the search and recovery crews who found her or to those who prayed for her.
For 33 days, they prayed together. And the family that never gave up hope gathered together on the front steps of the Gengel home in Rutland, Massachusetts, the same day Len and Cherylann Gengel found out their month-long wait was over, their daughter Britney's body was found in the rubble at the Hotel Montana in Haiti.
"Our worst fear is that she was going to be in Haiti forever. And we didn't want that. And so as horrific as it is, that we finally received the phone call, we're glad that we did and we're just going to be glad to have her back here home with us," Cherylann Gengel said.
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That measure of closure is small solace for this family, knowing
Britney died in the earthquake along with five others on a service trip from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.
The 19 year old was among the group of 14 on the Journey of Hope humanitarian visit.
In the days after last month's earthquake, eight students were found alive - she is the last one of four students and two faculty members whose body has been uncovered in the rubble.
A photo was taken just three hours before the earthquake, Britney was surrounded by kids in an orphanage in Port au Prince.
Since the earthquake, the small town of Rutland has come together to support this family.
Sunday, the Gengel's street, Watson Lane, and others throughout town were lined with yellow ribbons.
Over the past month, we've seen the very public ups and downs, highs and lows of the Gengel family.
Two days after the earthquake, word came that a missing Britney had been found alive.
"We were praying for this miracle that God gave us today," Len Gengel said that day.
That Thursday, NECN traveled with the Gengel family to Florida when exuberance and relief turned to devastation and distress.
That earlier information was incorrect.
Britney was still among the missing.
"We were told our children were safe and rescued, and now we're told they're not," Len Gengel said that day.
Soon after, Len Gengel traveled to Haiti.
"Nothing prepares you to lose a child. I mean this isn't a reality TV show. This is real life and real pain and real suffering," he said.
And then the waiting began, until Sunday morning, when he received information that her body was found.
"These lights that we put on tonight signify our daughter, and how much she loved these lights every Christmas. And they'll be kept on as a reminder of her until we bury her this Saturday," Len Gengel said at the family's Rutland home.
Her body is at Dover Air Force base in Delaware, and is expected to return home sometime this week.
The funeral will be Saturday.
Len and Cherylann released the following statement Sunday:
Another part of the Gengel family's statement includes these heartbreaking lines,
"Our daughter Britney signed up for a 3 week course at Lynn University called Journey of Hope. We sat with her before she left and talked about this trip being a life changing event! We never knew that this trip would change our lives and hers forever!"
And a statement from Lynn University:
The Gengels thanked Lynn University officials and singled out several politicians for their unwavering help including Senators John Kerry, Scott Brown, Congressman Jim McGovern, and State Senator Steven Brewer.
They said they will not rest until two other Americans are located who are yet to be recovered from the Hotel Montana site.
