On Wednesday, January 31st, the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) officially confirmed that two Belizean Park Rangers attached to the Caracol Archeological Reserve in the Cayo District, went missing after heading out for a routine patrol.
Rangers Luis Ramirez and Elroy Villanueva were last seen on Monday, January 29th, when they went on an existing trail on the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and failed to return.
An official statement from NICH says that after noticing their prolonged absence, the remaining rangers headed towards existing campsites in search of the men, while the Belize Defence Force was alerted as well. In an effort to find Ramirez and Villanueva, a team comprised of BDF soldiers, Tourism Police and staff of the Institute of Archaeology have been searching the immediate area, despite the current inclement weather.
The respective families of the rangers are aware of the situation and are hopeful that their loved ones will return safe back home.
As an intensive search and rescue mission continues on Wednesday with additional manpower, family and friends of the missing are questioning the incident. They speculate that they might have been victims of kidnapping by nearby Guatemalan bandits that roam the area. However, authorities cannot confirm any of these rumors.
The San Pedro Sun will continue following this developing story.
