The discovery of two objects spotted in the southern Indian Ocean that could be related to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has a North Texas family "hopeful," but looking for closure.
North Texas native Philip Wood was one of the 239 passengers on board Flight 370. His family, who lives in Keller, posted the following message on their Facebook page following the announcement by Austalian search officials:
“Please keep all the passengers and loved ones of MH370 in your positive thoughts and prayers as this latest news report unfolds. Thank you.”
The Facebook post indicated that the Wood family was aware of the new developments off the coast of Australia overnight and was following along in real time.
The area being searched in Australia is about 12 hours away from Central Time, and search officials have announced they have stopped the search for the night.
NBC 5's Jeff Smith spoke to members of Wood family Thursday morning, following the updates from Australian search officials.
"We’re not going to believe anything until we hear it from an official. So we’re hopeful, we remain hopeful. Of course, this is another new twist," Philip's mother Sondra Wood said.
Nick Wood, one of Philip's sons, had a similar sentiment. "Nothing has been found, they've stopped searching for the night and they haven't located anything. There's been so many false leads, so many false sightings, that we don't know what to think until they actually confirm something," Nick Wood said.
Even if the debris lead to the discovery of a tragic end to Flight 370, Sondra Wood said any clear information would be welcome.
"I want to know. One way or the other, I want to know." Sondra Wood said. "As a mother I want closure. And if indeed this is something that’s happening, we’ll be grateful to know that they found this plane. We’re hopeful. Still hopeful that Philip could be found."
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Philip Wood’s brother, Dan, told NBC 5 over the weekend that he was growing more optimistic that his brother was still alive.
Wood's girlfriend, Sarah Bajc, also spoke to NBC's "Today" show from Beijing about the new developments, but expressed concern for the families of other passengers.
“My heart just goes out to a lot of these families because I have a strong support network around me. I have exposure to what all these things mean and I get ample access to good information – and I’m in high stress,” Bajc told "Today."
“We just finally settled into got into a normal routine of waiting, unhappy waiting but at least we were going back to normal sleeping cycles and getting in and I've continued to teach and work and now this just throws it all, you know, all up in,” she said.
Bajc also criticized the Chinese media, saying that while she has access to other international news outlets, she understands why some families in China who have state-run media are upset. Bajc said the state-run media was "filtered" just before the satellite feed from her to Beijing was interrupted.
Wood was in Keller to visit with his two sons, brothers, and parents just one week he boarded Flight 370 nearly two weeks ago. His family says that visit was a blessing.
