The Royal Bahamas Police Force has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the safe return or whereabouts of the three missing Grand Bahama boys.
A prominent resident, Frances Singer-Hayward, wife of Grand Bahama Port Authority chairman Sir Jack Hayward, has offered an additional $50,000 reward under the same conditions.
The reward offered is now $75,000 for information leading to the discovery of (from left to right) Jake Grant – 12, Mackinson Colas – 11 and DeAngelo McKenzie – 13.
As of yesterday, over 70 miles of ground on Grand Bahama had been covered by "Operation Search" teams. Approximately 100 police and defense force officers were continuing to scour the island in search of clues into the disappearances of the three missing youngsters, with a little under 30 miles of ground left to cover before completing their island-wide mission.
"We are not performing a haphazard or superficial search," said Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force Herbert Bain. "We are employing techniques known as inline skirmishes which involve a line of men searching through every wooded area, every built-up area and no stone is being left uncovered in these searches."
According to Lieutenant Commander Bain, the entire island of Grand Bahama should be covered by the weekend.
Twelve-year-old Jake Grant has been missing on Grand Bahama since Friday, May 9. He was last seen at approximately 11 am that day.
Eleven-year-old Mackinson Colas was last seen on Friday May 16 between 9 am and 10 am and thirteen-year-old DeAngelo Mackenzie was last seen by his grandparents on Tuesday, May 27 at about 8 am.
Jake Grant and Mackinson Colas were reported missing from their homes, while DeAngelo McKenzie was said to have attended school that day and had attended a full day of classes prior to his reported disappearance.
Notwithstanding the weeks of searches and investigations thus far, Assistant Commissioner Greenslade said that in his view, there is no evidence to suggest that these cases may not be successfully resolved.
"I have told these families that I am optimistic," he said. "I am in charge and I have no information to date that tells me that we have found blood, seen signs of a struggle or that we have in fact seen these boys. We have absolutely no evidence in that regard, so why would I not be optimistic? I am keeping an open mind. We are here saying to the world that these boys must be somewhere, and I am optimistic that they will be okay."
Officer in Charge of Freeport's police command centre Superintendent Basil Rahming confirmed yesterday that in addition to the "Operation Search" efforts, criminal investigations were also ongoing into the disappearance of Jake Grant, Mackinson Colas and DeAngelo McKenzie.
If you have any information please call:
Hotline: 1 242 352-1919
Police Command Center: 351-4774 or 351-4775 or 351-9111 or 351-9991
Police Emergency Numbers: 911 or 919
