U.S. tourist killed in Placencia robbery

It is the type of crime we like to say doesn’t happen in Belize…. But on Sunday night in the usually peaceful resort community of Maya Beach it happened with a vengeance. Shortly after nine three men entered the bar at Singing Sands, a popular resort in a fast growing area of the Placencia Peninsula three miles north of Seine Bight. According to eyewitness accounts, two pulled out handguns and one brandished a rifle. They proceeded to rob the ten or so patrons of cash and valuables and then exited the open thatch roofed building, heading toward the beach. On the way they saw a light on in one of the beach front cabanas and entered, apparently looking to make one last score. At that point one of the occupants, forty-seven year old tourist Kirk Raymond Michael, sought to resist his assailants with a knife. He was immediately cut down by three shots from the rifle, in full view of his wife and eleven-year-old son. The three men then boarded their small skiff and sped off into the night. Michael, a teacher from Maryland, was taken to Dangriga Hospital, but died on the way from severe wounds to his abdomen. The three men, who were not wearing masks, had previously eaten at the hotel’s restaurant. Witnesses contacted by News Five described two of the murderers as dark complexioned and one as more Hispanic in appearance. All three spoke English and the consensus among the robbery victims is that they were not from Placencia or Seine Bight. One of the kitchen personnel who served the men dinner says that one of the men told her they were from Monkey River. Police are investigating the incident but thus far have made no arrests. Meanwhile, the Placencia Peninsula, long known as one of Belize’s most laid back and crime free tourism centers, is trying to recover from the shock of Sunday’s senseless violence. At newstime the body of Kirk Raymond Michael had just been examined by Pathologist Dr. Mario Estradabran and will be flown back to the United States tomorrow for burial.