Mayan villagers torch Crocodile Sanctuary
At the top of the newscast, we told you that the property of Vincent Rose, a U.S. crocodile expert who has been running a sanctuary a few miles outside of Punta Gorda Town, was on Sunday completely destroyed by fire. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was back in Punta Gorda today and has more on this developing story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A busload of residents from San Marcos Village visited the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary, ACES, on Sunday to conduct a search for Onelia and Benjamin Rash. The property, according to information given by a local fortune teller, was reportedly where the siblings were being held hostage. The owner who is accused of abducting the children to feed crocodiles was in San Pedro when he received news that ACES was on fire. Rose says his life has been destroyed simply based on superstition.
vincent rose
Vincent Rose, Owner, ACES
“I guess it came from a psychic! So let’s go with facts. Who we are what we do with a spotless record; now go with what a psychic is saying. My whole life is ruined and so is some of Toledo’s tourism now. The Maya community should be ashamed of itself. They burned the wrong man’s house down and destroyed a future entity for their own Toledo District.”
Isani Cayetano
“A mob of villagers in search of Oneila and Benjamin Rash descended upon the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary on Sunday morning—rifles and machetes in hand—where they proceeded to torch the property.”
According to Kenyatta Garnett of the Punta Gorda Fire Service an investigation into the arson has been launched and the department has joined forces with Punta Gorda police to ascertain its cause.
Kenyatta Garnett, O.C. Punta Gorda Fire Station
kenyatta garnett
“We’re definitely treating it as a case of arson based on the finding and the layout of the fire scene at this time.”
Isani Cayetano
“What is the preliminary investigation looking like at this point?”
Kenyatta Garnett
“Right now it’s coming around. We are doing our best to find out exactly what caused the fire and how the fire really started and thing at this time.”
The crocodile sanctuary was a million dollar investment that was set up to protect humans against them. Rose has indicated that he will be taking full legal action against the Mayan Community.
Isani Cayetano
“Do you plan on taking any legal recourse against anyone who may be found culpable of committing the crime of arson on your property?”
Vincent Rose
“Arson, attempted murder, trespassing, all the above, yes I will be taking very strong measures.”
Despite burning down the property Oneila and Benjamin Rash remain missing while the Mayan community today picketed the Punta Gorda Police Station. The children’s father, Pedro Rash, says their search over weekend was futile.
Pedro Rash, Father of Missing Children
“So far now, police and some of my villagers deh around and investigate more and look for the two child and the person we are waiting for I understand he is here now.”
Isani Cayetano
“There has been some controversy in the information that you were said to have gotten from a bush doctor regarding the whereabouts of your children. Could you speak to us a bit about that?
Pedro Rash
“Whether it could be so or not, I have evidence there by myself because we went there with the police along and one of my village members see what is there and that is the lime. I get some few lime there and that is what we see inside the house. That’s why we expect the police to get into the house or call that person and come in.”
That person was Vincent Rose. He flew down to Punta Gorda today where he gave a statement and accompanied police to the premises to complete their investigation. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
Wow what a complete disgrace to Belizeans everywhere these Mayans are.
Someone needs to educate them and teach them that Witch Doctors, Voodo Man and all that other crap is 100% FAKE!
I feel ashamed over what these people did in their own community.
Some f::::up lunatic claimed he/she is a psychic and the village burned down part of their community to the ground. My ketchi grandmother is turning in her grave right now.
First of all, if the story was even true from the lunatic, evidence that might have been inside the property is not destroyed, and the kids are still missing.
I condone burning down a man’s mansion, tearing a nation apart, and killing everyone else to save your child, but my people, next time rely on evidence, not a lunatic with a crystal ball.
Is this the same bush doctor/psychic who tells people to put quicksilver in their veins to ward off evil & provide the puro to smoke to win & keep the man of our dreams…Good luck!
Will the entire Maya Community get charged and what will the charges be?
They did it for their children and if you intend to charge someone–you will find yourself charging the entire Mayan or Ketchi community. They reported the matter to the police and they did nothing or atleast it was not pleasing. Arson is a grave crime–loosing a love one is worse… I wish I can help–seriously.
i say good for you my mayan people this place is a farse no one spends a million dollars to keep crocodiles caged we mayans have been living in belize for thousands of years we do not need an american to keep us away from a crocodile we know better who is this guy kidding he is probably another pedophile from the us and he is selling crocodile skin who is he kidding this should be illegal in belize but he probably paid off some official in this corrupt gov to get a permit for this no take no bush doctor fu do nothing this american is probably another child molester look into his background bet he is another one like the chess player who was abusing children while teaching them chess fresh from jail in the us. hun hunapu go mayan.
Wat a IDIOT…..superstition yes but this bs is nonsense he should go to JAIL for what him and his wife did and also for abusing his kids to sell CRABoo on the streets lazy … dumb …. MAYA! KARMA will deal with you!
normally i do not like the americans who come to belize to get rich with cons…. but inthis case it is sad to see how the people of toledo Are acting. i lived in toledo for 3yrs and the people are good and kind but the maya people are ignorant. this is not because of lack of education as some defenders would like to say but by choice. the maya always think that they can do as they please and no one can stop them. it is time that they realize that as long as you live in belize the law is the law and some kind of justice should be done or they will do this agian… thats not maybe for they have been doing it for a long time. just look at the history and see how many homes have been burn down in the communities. remember atht the law is the law….Justice for all!!!!!!!!!
My inside information tell me that something is not right about the man but there are high ranking officers in the Police who is willfully protecting the man. i wont say anymore. But check this: the man is not left on the streets ok. He is rich guy somehow. he came to give his statement from san pedro on a private plane and waited for him den he flies back to san pedro ok.
Think bout it
How Sad for the family to lose their childred but to presume that his kids were abducted on such flimsy evidence as limes on the Americans property….. bad. Now this situation reflects poorly on the Mayan community and whatever few jobs were available from the Crocs sanctuary for the locals will disappear. NOT ALL FOREIGNERS ARE GOOD FOR OUR COUNTRY BUT NOT ALL ARE BAD AS WELL
I think if they want to do anything to anybody should be to themselves for exploiting their children. These children are missing and taking premature actions like these isnt helping the situation but instead they are making it worse. I do hope the children are found and that some action is taken to prevent this from happening. We have children rights and human rights where are the social workers etc.
This is bad for Toledo and for the Maya cause. People will not want to support vigilantes.
Friend and rod, lack of education is obviously the cause of your narrow mind…and it becomes more obvious the more u speak. Wake up we living in 21st century and you guys condoning stupid behaviour such as arson based on suspiscion….shameful.
I felt so happy for the Mayas when they had their victory in court. Where are the Mayan leaders at? Let them show their face and demand their community to pay for the damages to Mr. Rose’s investment.
People who assume this guy is a pedophile just because he is a foreigner or appears to have financial resources are just as ignorant as the people who believed the fortune teller or that a few limes in the house was evidence that a crime had been committed.
Will the police charge the fortune teller (remember “pretending to tell fortunes” is a crime, ask the obeah man in Cayo about that)? Will the police charge any of the villagers for arson? Will the parents of these kids be charged with negligence or child labour? No, no, and no.
evidence based on LIMES you have to be kidding!
evidence based on limes? You have to be kidding? Also, Mr. Rose did not fly down on a private plane…did you not see TROPIC AIR on the plane?
Looks like the Mayans not only have land rights too, they also have the rights to burn down people house and also to be unlawful citizens of this country. what the hell happen to these Mayans?
Get rid of the fortune teller mein. They are deceiving our brothers and sisters downsouth. Let us base on evidence. Not fortune teller.
SAW NEWS 7 ON THIS ISSUE AND NEED TO SAY, “HOW DARE THIS COLORLESS FOREIGNER TO CALL THE MAYAS SAVAGES REPEATEDLY” WHO CAN LIVE AMONG SAVAGES IF THEY ARE NOT SAVAGES THEMSELVES AND SO CAPABLE OF HEINOUS CRIMES . IF THIS MAN IS CLEARED OF THE ALLEGATION HE SHOULD THEN BE DEPORTED IMMEDIATELY AS AN UNDISIREABLE PERSON FOR INSULTING OUR PEOPLE. AND WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO KEEP OUR WILDLIFE IN CAPTIVITY. WHERE ARE THESE SO CALLED PROTECTIVE NGO’s WHO WOULD CITE YOU FOR EVEN A PARROT AT YOUR HOME.
All Mayas should be ashamed!! If they brag so much, I look foward to an official appology from all those that were in court running their mouths!!! The whole mayan community should be charge with arson!
Lazy man why send your children to sell, the uncles statement sounds way too fishy has anyone looked at that??
Sorry to hear of this situation. Let’s not judge until we can prove people come on, we are not animals. Now that there is a name and a picture to this guy, if you are concerned enough that is, look him up on the enternet and see who he really is and if he got a criminal back ground and that way we can know for sure if he should be judged as a pediphile.
Post your findings online and on this site so that we know what is really going on.
Thanks people
ok belize .so what the hell you the try say ?????? mayan ppl are showing others that the need to be respected. this is nothing , maybe worse later on . you see how belize city itself right now? killing happening on the street everyday , children gone missing not being found and no lead or further investigation. but toledo district is different. guess police out there are learning to get up killing hapen right in front of their nose still don’t do nothing . what ppl out there do ????? nothing….. that’s what they like biut not with the mayan villagers. mayan ppl are poor ppl but they to be respected and let us pray that these children return back to their family .
PEOPLE!!! MAYAS< BELIZEANS WHATEVER RACE AND CULTURE U ARE WE ARE NOT GOD TO RENDER JUDGMENT TO EACH OTHER. OBVIOUSLY WE ARE NOT FAITHFUL ENOUGH TO OUR CREATOR WHO DESPISES THIS SORT OF THING, SORCERER, WITCHCRAFT, MURDEROUS INTENTIONS , HATE…..COME ON LEAVE IT ALL IN THE HANDS OF GOD HE WONT EVER FORGET TO PERSECUTE THE WICKED.
WHAT IS BECOMING OF THE MAYANS DOWN SOUTH. ITS THE PARENTS FAULT THAT THE CHILDREN WENT MISSING. I AM A MAYA BUT I PERSONALLY DO NOT BELIEVE IN SUPERSTITION OR WORSE FORTUNE TELLER. WHAT PROVE DO THE PARENTS HAVE THAT MR ROSE COMMITTED SUCH CRIME. LIME?????? ANYBODY HAVE LIME. RELY ON EVIDENCES AND THEN TAKE ACTION. THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING THE PROPERTY ON FIRE SHOULD BE THE ONLY ONE CHARGED NOT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
The news reads “according to information given by a local fortune teller, was reportedly where the siblings were being held hostage” OK how does his make any sense??? if the children were being held hostage and the people burnt down the house/property/etc, then they would have killed the children they were looking for. That makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. And going on the actions of a FORTUNE TELLER, good lord… such a shame! Poor children, poor families, poor people being blamed. This whole situation is just so unfortunate.
II have no tolerance for what the people from San Marcus did to Mr. Rose. I am from Toledo a Ketchi Maya just like them; I am so EMBARASS about their behavior. I don’t want to be bias here but the Punta Gorda Police station is where u will get receive little or no assistance. It happens to my family that’s y I am saying this. IF the PG police put more interest and act upon complaint being reported by citizens of Toledo, all this drama could have been avoided. I know for a fact that the Maya do work as UNITY, they all unite. Why the police did didn’t come up with a better strategy demanding the community to assist them along with the BDF. Don’t you guys watch CNN, MSNBC and other news net work, see how they all cooperate in assisting to find a lost child in states? Why can’t we do the same? I must repeat that I have no tolerance what my fellow Mayan people did. Arson is not the solution to this situation. It’s not they are lack of education as some may assume, they are just being ignorant. Justice should be serve and those children MUST be brought back to their parents.
shame on the mayas to go this far, but I guess they are learning from gregory choc and christina coc.
I cannot condone what these people did to this white man rose, but I stronly believe police should have listen to the villagers and gone full force to check on this man rose, just like how they do in belize city when shearching for drugs.
I personaly don’t trust foreingers in my country, especially those ones that invest so much money on animals, in fact i don’t like them, they come here in my country to get rich of our resources, look down on our people and called us savages hmmm.
I kind of believe rose fed those croc with the children, and now I bet we will never find them, maybe the savages should have hack all the croc and see if the children were in the croc stomach.
so sad, really sad, I still blame the parents.
how many of us have limes in our homes, this is the father”s justification for torching the man’s home . lets get real. international trafiking in human body parts that involves the abduction of children is an urban legend. there have been numerous TV reports all over the world and none has produced any real evidence to support these claims. these stories florish in these communities because they feed on anti-american anti foreigner sentiment. Lynching and vigilante justice thrive in societies where there seems to be no functioning justice system and impunity reigns. lets hear the Minister’s comment on this one.
Funny how the father,the Uncle & the Mother of the missing kids aren’t crying all over the place, tears streaming down their faces, pleading for help from ANYONE for their children’s safe return.
If it were my kids I would be yelling and begging from the highest mountain top for help to find them, banging on every door in the city.
What are the parents & Uncle doing (beside conspiring to commit felonies) to find their own children???
Where were the parents? Sending their kids out to sell craboo and lime? It is terrible the children are missing, and the parents should be held accountable. Shame on them.
As for the arson, that was wrong. It now looks like Vince had nothing to do with the missing kids. There should be some accountability for that, too. Shame on the people of San Marcos.
And this guy Vince, he did not help himself to call Maya people savages. That is 19th century racist talk, the kind of garbage bigots say. Shame on him.
So, where are the Maya leaders? Will they condemn this act? no, they won’t. They will drive around in their AC rides, sit in their big rich mans houses, paid for by telling the rich white people they represent the Mayas, and they will say nothing. Shame on them.
This whole thing is a shame and a stain on our country. What happens next in our so called “Justice System” is going to be an even bigger shame.
calling on the following people to report to san marcus in PG.
PRIME MINISTER OF PG, GREGORY CHOC, DEPUTY PM CRISTINA COC, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, WILL MEHEIAH, CHILDREN ADVOCATES.
FIND ONELIA AND BENJAMIN FOR GOD SAKE AND QUICK TOO!!!
POLICE DEPARTMENT, REPORT TO SAN MARCOS AND CHARGE THE PARENTS OF THESE CHILDREN FOR NEGLIGENCE, CHECK ON THIS MAN ROSE BACKGROUND,THERE IS SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT HIM, OH AND PLEASE CHECK WHAT WAS THE CROC EAT FOR THE PAST WEEKS IF POSSIBLE.
tired of hear people tak tak tak about children rights, now lets see what they will do.
Macal, how can u not like the foreigners that bring in the monies in the country? Your comments lack intelligence. In my mind, anyone that behaves like an animal is savage. The Mayas acted like savages when they destroyed the property. The killings in Belize City are being carried out by savages. Why, because many times, the victims are killed for no reason…for example, Mr. Peters.
What proof do you have that the children were fed to the crocs?
I am waiting to hear someone from the GOB like the PM to say that mob action will not be tolerated.
welcome to the Jewel!!
I hope these kids are found. As to the dumb a%$#@ who would actually listen & take into consideration what a “fortune teller” tells them, shame on you. Can’t believe they are people out there who still believes in this stuff, thought they would have wise up a long time ago…guess not. Lets see if the Mayan leaders of that community has to say.
If the Roses were guilty of pedophile or abducting these kids, they would not be calling on International Press, e.g. CNN to cover this story. They were into the wildlife conservation, namely crocodiles and should be applauded for their efforts not victimized!!!
If I call someone a thief, that does not make that person a thief. When that person steals something he becomes a thief no matter what I or anybody else calls him.
If Vince Rose calls me a SAVAGE, that does not make me a SAVAGE.
But if I’m part of a mob that goes on another man’s land and we burn the buildings and do harm to his animals than what we do makes us SAVAGES, because we act like SAVAGES. Malicious, ignorant, gullible SAVAGES.
so ashamed of what these people did, but on the other hand ,why didn’t the police listen to these parents ,friends and families?what were they doing?
i really believed you macal rivera, foreigner come and use our natural resources,establish their business get donations claiming they are using it to help our community. people that invest in belize use the people here as their bait to get what they want!
My concerns are not for the crocs or the house, i am happy they are alive! i am more concern about the kids,what actaully happened to them? what happen ?somebody knows and must c something.
lt can happen to anybody too!
proud you are as big a bafone as this gov. who are more savages than the people in belize city raping stealing murdering sodomizing a who are more savages than them you should try to open your little brain because if they took your brain and put it in a black bird it would fly backwards. come on who in the world will go and spend millions of dollars to put crocks in a pen for nothing come people if you believe this then there is no help for belize first of all why is he allowed to keep crocks ill tell you because he paid off someone in this gov. and he is selling the skins and the meat no one invest millions just because they want to watch aligators eat bet there is something rotten in this guys background.
SHAMEFUL! The Mayan people should not let there ignorance take control of them.
to you proud: I said I do not condone the act of the mayas, did’nt you read my previous comments!! you are the one who lack intelligence, the forgeiners take dem money abroad you fool, only small change left in Belize, what they do is get rich here of our land and other recources, and most of them come and hyde from their past criminal way in our country, so you are taking bs.
As for the children being fed to the croc, that my personal believe,
ina fi we black people culture there is a saying that says,( if dah no so dah nearly SO)
I WANT TO HEAR COMMENT FROM THE MAYAN LEADERS, THE PM, AND MINISTER OF POLICE…
WE CANNOT TOLERATE THIS NON-SENSE..EVERYONE LIVING IN BELIZE SHOULD FOLLOW THE RULE OF LAW…WHY A PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUP FEEL THAT THE OWN THE COUNTRY? ARE THEY SUPERIOR TO OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS???
THE POLICE SHOULD CHARGE THE PARENTS FOR NEGLIGENCE AND THE PERSON WHO ORGANIZED THE TORCHING OF THE PLACE…
I HOPE THAT JUSTICE IS SERVED IN THIS CRIME: ARSON, ATTEMPTED MURDER, AND TRESPASSING…
Guinea Grass, I gree with you sake of we see it all the time. Maya people acting like they are %110 Belizean and the rest of us just come ya. The rule of law should stand for all, and no one should eb immune.
As to macal rivera, you clearly don’t spend much time da Toledo. These people only educate about crocs and relocate problem crocs to their sanctuary. They came here to live, not make money and go home.
Hey Macal,
Check out your facts, boyh of these people were not even there when the children disappeared. As for rich, far from it. They came to your country with a pick up truck and a trailer loaded down with everything they owned. The sanctuary that was destroyed was built by their own hands, blood sweat, and a lot of tears. The only riches they had were a double does of what built the Unted States 250 years ago. It is called rugged indivdualism, and vision,to want something better, and hace the backbone and enough spirit to see it through, against all the odds and the adversity they faced. They started with very little, and ended up with a dream come true. What you don’t seem to realize is that anyone in your country could have done the same. And once more all they had to do was ask Vince and he would have shown them how, and helped them do it. These are good people, two of the best, they would no more hurt a child then would Mother Theresa. And as for the previos comments about peaple not needing protection from the crocs, your right, it is the crocs they are there to save. It is the environment, from the reef , to the estuaries, to the rivers and forest, Thats why they are there. To help save you from your own selves.
tell a macal proud thinks he is a genius well i can tell you e the fly backway because he tha one a they wey vote fu this gov show you how smart he is genius genius .
These parents are equally to be blamed for endangering their children. If something happened to either one of these kids the other is in no position to defend his/her sibling. Parents, whether mayan, creole, hispanic or garifuna need to know that their role is to protect their children….educated or not…….that is simple common sense. Todays time is not like many decades ago…….when it took a village to raise a child. When all parents looked out for each other children….when your neighbor could discipline your children when they did something wrong. Belize is not like this anymore! People are out there to prey on the defenseless….even your own family members cannot be trusted with your innocent children. This is the reality of what the world and the society has become……..parents sleep with your own eyes…….YOUR kids are YOUR RESPONSIBILITY until they mature and leave your home. And the behaviour of this group is in no way a reflection of what BELIZE or its people is. It is however, a reflection of people’s distrust in the police and the justice system.
This is the problem with we Belizeans. We jump and hola and criticize everythingthing. We blame the police, we blame the government and we say this and dat. Now what the mayas did in my mind at least is what the rest of us need to do to take back control of this country. Yes, we catch a thief, give him/her some ruwanda justice. Yes maybe they destroyed whatever evidence was there but what difference would that have made. Would our forensics test the limes to see if they are from the same batch? We need radical examples to show that we are reaching the point that seminars and workshops cannot help.
i would say that most of these people in san marcus are careless and don’t care about their children. even up to now they are sending 5 yrs old and evn 4yrs to catch bus on their own to come to Punta Gorda. do you believe they could not get lost or kidnap from by these so called gringos to feed to crocodile. they get corrupted when they see a child by themselves. There’s a possibilities that they are the one who could kidnap the children. only God can judge that onless theres evidence to proof that is so. Why did the Police bust in the house to find eveidence? these are children not animals. come on Police. The people act on it and creating now a big problem when the police could have gone in the house than the people for themselves to create a massive problem. no evidence can be found now if the house is burn. and we don’t need no American crocodile sanctuary in Belize these are some of the things that happen like in most movies, feeding children for crocodiles… possible. let God judge.
Oh yes and to all you who now see these Mayas as savages, believe me when you have to hold your child in your arms and you become defenseless and frustrated I can BET any of you would turn in savages regardless of what you think now. I agree that many parents can get by without sacrificing their children into street vendors but it has been a practice from centuries. So let you all civilized persons pray for these children but also pray for yours so that you don’t have to become savages yourself.
The fact that some of the posters can’t comprehend why a person would work not for a profit or for some nefarious reasons, solely out of self-interest but rather to selflessly do his part in the betterment of the humanity and mother earth, speaks more of the posters’ own evil souls rather than of the people they’re trying to smear with their ignorant tales spun out of thin air.
Bigotry knows no historical, religious or ethnic boundaries. Read up on blood libel and pogroms. Strangers living within seemingly peaceful communities accused of stealing children, poisoning wells, spreading disease, etc. – burned, murdered or chased away.
George Santayana’s often quoted “Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it” just got one more proof of its validity.