Mesa man missing in deadly Nepal floods

Tonight, the death toll climbing above 1200 from devastating flooding in Nepal and the search continues for thousands still missing. And among the missing, an Arizona man whose family is holding on to nothing but hope right now. Fox 10's Jacob Luthi spoke with the man's daughter and joins us live with more. Yeah, John, Christina, Cassava Rao Thadapathri is 73 years old. His family says he's a devoted member of this Hindu temple here in Tempe. And really, they say that he's a spiritual leader to many all over the country. His daughter telling me that she's now trying to draw on some of those lessons that he taught her, maybe the most important one, holding on to hope. I will have issues near the Trishuli River. Those were the last words Ramya Thadapathri says her father sent his family. Minutes later, the flood hit. My mom asked what issues and then that was it. We didn't have any more communication after that. Ramya says her 73-year-old father, Cassava Rao Thadapathri from Mesa, had planned for years to visit holy sites across the Himalayas, meeting a group of fellow travelers. This is one of the last photos of him at an immigration office in Nepal, preparing to leave for Tibet. He was marked as missing and still remains that status. The family has held on to hope before and Ramya says they're doing it again. Cassava Rao was in the World Trade Center South Tower on 9-11. For hours, his family didn't know if he was alive until he walked through the door without a scratch. Ramya says he'd spent those hours helping women in high heels find shoes so they could run to safety. Our first thought with all this happening was maybe he's in some Nepal village helping out the villagers or something. But of course, it's a much longer wait this time. These videos capture the moments flash floods ripped through Nepal on August 26th. More than 1,000 people are dead. Thousands more are still missing. Now members of the Nepali Student Association at ASU are doing what they can to help. Being so far away from home, you feel like really helpless not being able to help. So we are just trying to be able to raise some funds so that can send it back home and you know we cannot reverse what happened but at least be able to some sort of help to the people who are in need. Cassava Rao's life has long been rooted in his faith. He's a spiritual guide at the SVK Hindu temple in Tempe teaching Hindu texts and scriptures to people across the country. Ramya says her father has helped others through some of their darkest moments. Now she says it's his own teachings that are helping his family hold on. We're still holding on to hope and you know at the same time kind of accepting that that my father you know could be gone but it's you know we don't want that hope taken away from us. Now Ramya says that she's in communication with the U.S. Embassy as well as our local leaders for any word on her father. Now the Nepalese Students Association at ASU, they're hosting fundraisers all week including one that's happening tonight if you're in the Tempe area. It's at the alley. It's a boba shop. 20% of the proceeds will go to their fundraising efforts if you use the words NSA and again all that information as to their fundraising efforts could be found on our website at fox10phoenix.com. Reporting live in Tempe tonight, Jacob Luthi, Fox 10 News.