TAMPA, Fla. — Six days after a Tampa woman disappeared, she was found in a wooded area in Oldsmar by a volunteer search group, severely dehydrated and needing immediate medical attention.
Today, 10 Tampa Bay was there exclusively as Anu Awasthi's husband and two sons met with those heroes in person for the first time since she was found.
"My man! My hero!" Anu's husband, Vikas Awasthi, exclaimed as he first laid eyes on Nico Tusconi, the co-founder of We Are The Essentials. "When I met you and I shook your hand, I knew the right person was out there looking for her. I knew it."
The We Are The Essentials team had been searching for Anu for three days before Tusconi found her Wednesday afternoon. She was in a wooded area near the Walmart on Tampa Road in Oldsmar, close to where she was last seen the previous Thursday.
Tusconi shared with the family what Anu asked her after he found her.
"After we stabilized her and gave her first aid, one of the first things she asked about was what you guys. She said, 'How are my boys?' and I said, 'They've been looking for you!'" Tusconi said.
While Awasthi recovers in the hospital, questions remain about what happened that led her to that wooded area and whether she was there for the entire 6 days.
But tonight, her family and the We Are The Essentials team are breathing easier and reflecting on the tense six days that brought them together.
"Just passing out flyers, it was so unbelievably hot," Varun Awasthi, Anu's son said. "I think people need to understand how hard it is to do what you guys do and how blessed we are to have you to help us out."
We Are The Essentials Co-Founder Billy Lane responded, "We'd do it again tomorrow and we'll probably be doing it again soon for another family. So keep us in your prayers."
We Are the Essentials is a volunteer organization made up of former military and law enforcement. They've been tackling missing person cases in Central Florida for nearly two years now.
"Today is the reason that we do this," said Billy Lane. A payoff in a life saved, and a family made whole.