Tourists robbed while canoeing on Macal
And while Belize City figures heavily in the recent crime wave, the seaside municipality is not the only hot spot. Incidents that were left unreleased by the police press office–but were reported in the U.S. media–involve the robbery of tourists who rent canoes on the Macal River in the vicinity of San Ignacio. One highly publicized account reveals that a couple hailing from the state of Washington were robbed of their valuables, stripped naked and marched through the jungle before eventually being released unharmed. The tourists had been paddling down a narrow stretch of river when four men emerged from the bush armed with guns and machetes and grabbed their canoes. The United States embassy confirmed to New 5 that they have received reports of at least three similar attacks on U.S. tourists in recent months. It is understood that tourist lodges along the Macal have agreed to provide material support and work closely with Cayo Police to both capture the criminals and prevent future robberies in the area. Canoeing along the Macal is a popular tourist activity that provides a living for numerous small tour operators and guides in addition to riverside resorts.
I was a little surprised to find this story since my wife, daughter and I were one of these groups that were robbed while canoeing on the Macal. Although the experience was terrifying, especially for our 11 year-old at the time daughter, we were impressed with how seriously it was taken by the local police. It seemed like every police officer in San Ignacio was called in to search for suspects and by the time we had finished giving our statements, they had hauled in a dozen (all of the usual?) suspects to see if we might be able to identify any of them. Although none of the suspects were the boys who had robbed us, it seemed clear that the police intended to get the message out that robbing visitors was not going to be tolerated. Now that 8 years have passed, our memories of the incident are almost of it having been an adventure. Our daughter wrote an essay about the experience for school and when she read it, jaws hit the floor and it earned her an Ä! After we left Chaa Creek and visited other areas of Belize, it seemed like the entire country knew that we were the family that had been robbed in the jungle.