By Vanessa C. Rolle
The Nassau Guardian
Superintendent Marvin Dames, Officer in Charge of the Central Detective Unit (CDU) said the incident added a new dimension to the duties of police officers who were already on the island investigating the murder of Canadian visitor Marcia McKenzie.
The kidnapping report reached the CDU late Friday morning. By Friday evening the officers had already closed the case, having rescued the kidnapped man and taken into custody the suspects.
According to Supt. Dames, around 6:30am on Friday, 53 year old Floyd Sawyer of Treasure Cay, Abaco was about to leave his residence. As he was getting into his truck he was accosted by two gunmen. One was armed with a .9mm pistol and the other had a "mini" Uzi.
The men took the keys from Mr. Sawyer and pushed him into his truck where he was gagged and a mask placed over his head.
The men then drove to South East Bootle Highway where they met another male, who took possession of the vehicle. He drove off the highway into bushes, where he handcuffed Mr. Sawyer to a Coconut tree and left.
The men contacted Mr. Sawyer's son, Clint Sawyer and demanded $350,000 said Supt. Dames.
"At this point, we had a team of officers from the Central Detective Unit in Abaco, assisting in the investigations of the murder of Marcia McKenzie.
The officers reacted very quickly. And as a result of the investigations, the officers devised a plan and took up surveillance at the residence of one Hubert Bethel," he said.
During the surveillance the officers saw a black truck leaving with three occupants. They spotted something being thrown out of the window and retrieved a .9mm pistol with some 15 live rounds in it, Mr. Dames confirmed.
The pursuit continued onto a track road where the truck stalled and the officers arrested Hubert Frankie Bethel, 31; Renardo Ricardo Major, 23; and Ricardo Edward Reckly, 32. The men were charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, kidnapping and possession of firearms and ammunition.
