He had been manning an observation post 5.7 miles from the mountain, but he had a college placement interview on May 18 in California, and so had left the site the day before the eruption.

他是离火山9公里处一个观察所的工作人员，但5月18日在加利福尼亚有个大学编班面试，因此在火山爆发前一天离开了现场。