U.S. resident claims con cost her big bucks

It is left to our imagination to determine exactly what happened on a bus travelling through the Stann Creek District, but tonight a U.S. resident of Hopkins is missing a whole lot of money. Lois Chandler told police that she was conned out of fifty-five thousand dollars in cheques, four thousand five hundred dollars in cash, her U.S. passport and Belizean residency card by a travelling companion she thought was her friend. According to authorities, Chandler claims that she was on her way to Belize City along with a man known to her only as Vincent Rodriguez and for reasons known only to her, she gave Rodriguez her purse for safekeeping. It is not sure what the relationship was between Chandler and Rodriguez or how long they have known each other, but she claims that after they reached the old capital and got off the bus, Rodriguez told her that he would go and get a taxi for them. But guess what? He never returned and has not been heard from since. Police say they are looking for the suspect and trying to verify if Vincent Rodriguez is indeed his real name.