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For Leslie A. Whittington, Charles Falkenberg and their two young daughters, the flight to Los Angeles was to have been only the start of their journey. They were headed to Australia, where Whittington, a Georgetown University economist, was to work as a visiting professor for several months at Australian National University.

The family, friends said, had been planning for this adventure for months. The pair had been married 17 years. Their daughters, Zoe and Dana, were 8 and 3.

Profile courtesy of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.