Missing British teen… Cops conduct searches at Berbice, Sophia and Timehri

Jan 08, 2016 News

– Man arrested, woman abandons young child
Police, acting on a tip-off, launched a search that took them to Berbice, Sophia and Timehri, but thus far they have come up empty-handed in their search for Dominic Bernard, the missing British teen.

MISSING: Dominic Bernard

Reports were that the teen, clothed in black, was last seen in the company of a man last Sunday evening in the vicinity of the Sophia minibus park, Stabroek.
One vendor who asked that his name not be published seemed very sure that the teen was in the company of a dreadlocked man. In fact the vendor alleges that several purchases of beverage were made from his cart.
“I recognize he from the papers photo. Sunday night he was with a Rastaman from Sophia, dressed in black from head to toe, and he hat turn back just like in the papers, but he had a li’l beard and he had a lot of England money.”
The vendor recalled that the teen operated very nervously, while talking secretively on his phone at intervals, and was allegedly often looking over his shoulders. “He was also very serious when he spoke to one person on the phone.”
The youth was allegedly last seen entering a Sophia minibus with the ‘Rastaman’ on Sunday evening.
In the wee hours of yesterday several CID, Intelligence and uniformed police ranks from Georgetown and Berbice, acting on a tip-off, swooped down on a house in Kildonan, Corentyne, in pursuit of the missing teen.
They were taken to the location by a man who alleged that he had seen the teen on Sunday night.
There, at about 01:30hrs yesterday, the ranks discovered that the house was the home of the missing teen’s best friend and godbrother whose name was given as Aaron Hing.
However, according to Hing’s girlfriend he (Hing) had not been home since leaving on Monday. Nonetheless, police searched several yards in proximity to the Kildonan address but came up empty handed.
The ranks were then directed to a house in Sophia, where a man called ‘Shabba’ was taken into custody, as he was allegedly the last person seen with Aaron Hing.
He is now assisting with investigations as are at least two others.
Further information led the cops to a house in Timehri where a woman and a five-year-old child were at home. However, while the police searched the property and its immediate environs, the woman managed to slip away from the house leaving the child behind.
Information received by this publication is that the teen’s godbrother managed to leave the location just before the police arrived yesterday. He allegedly received a phone call that the police were in Sophia.
When contacted, Police Commander of ‘A’ Division, Clifton Hicken, did not confirm or deny that Hing is on the run. He however assured that the matter is being vigorously investigated with a view to solving it at the soonest.
It has been over two months since the Britain-born Dominic Bernard landed in Guyana via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on his second solo trip out of England. But since then he has not been seen or heard from.
On October 14, 2015, Bernard departed London, England, on Caribbean Airlines (CAL) Flight BW 903 destined for Port of Spain, Trinidad. From the twin-island republic, the 18-year-old then boarded CAL BW 483 which arrived in Georgetown at 21:50 p.m. the same day.
This was his maiden trip to Guyana. He was supposed to have been picked up from the airport by Aaron Hing.
However, this arrangement never materialized since Hing was allegedly unaware that Bernard was travelling to Guyana.
According to the missing teen’s father, Andrew Bernard, his son told him he was coming to Guyana to spend some time with Hing. He said that his son was scheduled to return home on November 5, 2015, but failed to do so.
The father stated that after his son did not return home, he contacted Hing, who told him that he did not see his son and did not even know that the teen had travelled to Guyana.
He explained: “Because he [Hing] is family, we just assumed that Dominic was having a good time.” The older Bernard said that local Immigration authorities had confirmed his son landed in Guyana. He stated that CAL had also verified that his son did not use his return ticket to England.
The father related that prior to his son’s arrival in this country; he was very active on his social media profiles. The distraught man added that his son has not posted anything on his Facebook, YouTube or Whatsapp since.
When Kaieteur News checked Dominic Bernard’s Facebook page, it showed that he last posted a photo on September 17, 2015. Several of his friends have shared posts about him being missing.
The senior Bernard said that his son is a photographer/film-maker of reputable character. He said it was unusual for his son to go anywhere without informing loved ones. He recalled that the teen had travelled to Atlanta, Georgia, earlier last year and made contact with his family as soon as he touched down there.
Dominic Bernard is the eldest of three siblings and was encountering no problems back at home, according to his father. He is six feet tall with brown eyes and he speaks with a British accent.
Local and British law enforcement officials are now investigating the matter. The teenager’s family is offering a reward to anyone with credible information that could lead them to finding him.