A Man of True Courage: Angel Juarbe, Jr., of ‘Murder in Small Town X’

Angel had actually picked out the killer as early as the third episode, and he held to that until the very last minute, when the producers fed the Final 2 with a completely misleading clue that sent both of them in the other direction. Because both could not pick the same suspect, Angel ended up back with his original suspect – the villain of the story – by default. However, the fact of the matter remains that if the producers had not given them such a horribly ill-conceived clue that they had no way of interpreting the way producers did, he would have stayed with that suspect anyway.

More importantly than how he won, though, was that while he was on the show, he talked about courage several times. There he was discussing courage in the face of a make-believe murderer. That particular courage earned him a prize of $250,000 plus a car – neither of which he actually had a chance to enjoy. But when it really counted, he proved that same courage in the face of all-too-real murderers. For that, he lost his life, but he may have saved countless others.

Just one week after the game was over and Angel had been crowned the winner, but before he had even gotten his check for the win, two planes were flown into the World Trade Center. Angel was among the heroic rescue workers to respond to the attack. Ironically, the finale for MiSTX had originally been scheduled for that very evening of September 11, but had been pushed up to the 4th.

At around noon on that day, MiSTX message boards began having posts showing concern for Angel, with the focus first aimed at whether or not his unit would have even been called to the building. Soon people realized that he had, indeed, been on the scene.

It may seem odd to worry about what people on message boards were saying as part of a Hall of Fame induction, however, Angel became something of a symbol for people who otherwise did not have any direct connections to people in New York. Viewers felt like they knew him after having watched him week after week. So when he was reported missing, everybody who had seen the show felt that much closer to the tragedy.

People followed the news on message boards, hoping against hope that he would somehow walk out of the rubble. But it didn’t happen. Hours turned into days; days turned into weeks. It became clear that Angel had not survived.

However, as more news trickled out, we did find out just how he died as a friend of his related information to the MiSTX message board. He was in Ladder Company 12, which arrived shortly after the first tower fell. The second tower was still standing and Angel and his fellows entered a hotel connected to the WTC. They made their way up the hotel, escorting people down to safety as they went.

When his team was on the 14th floor, the call went out to evacuate. As they made their way down, the building began to lose structural integrity. At about the fourth floor, the stairs began to collapse. The only way down was going to be to rappel, but they had left their rope earlier in order to free themselves up for rescue operations. Angel was among those who volunteered to go retrieve the rope, and back up the stairs they went. On the way up, Angel radioed in about another firefighter who needed assistance.

Then the North tower collapsed. Those who were stranded on the fourth floor, waiting for Angel to return with rope, survived. But Angel and the other fireman who had been trying to help them were killed.

It was not until November 28 that Angel’s remains were found among the ruins of the Mariott Hotel. On December 1, they were laid to rest.

On September 27, 2002, the mayor of New York signed a bill naming 81 streets after heroes who died on September 11, 2001. One of those avenues, in The Bronx, was named for Firefighter Angel Luis Juarbe, Jr.

Angel Juarbe was a good man, a heroic man, a humble man, a courageous man, and much more. It is an honor to bestow upon him an induction into the Reality TV Hall of Fame.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of the Reality TV Hall of Fame, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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