Jean Lamontagne, the mother of two young men missing for 17 days in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has fallen ill ? possibly as a result of looking for them in a shelter in Texas.

?I think we picked something up from the shelter when we were looking for the boys,? Mrs. Lamontagne said yesterday.

She intends to fly home with 17-year-old Jashun and 19-year-old Jamel Thomas tomorrow.

Daughter Ronisha DeFontes, who is with her mother in Texas, said Jashun and Jamel were still recuperating after the long separation and slept most of yesterday.

?I was very happy, I was so ecstatic,? Ms DeFontes said. ?We found them in Gonzales in Louisiana. The reason we did not hear anything was they did not have the option to call us out of Gonzales,? she said.