ROSEAU, Dominica–Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he has called on the French authorities to assist in the search for a 12-year-old school girl who was abducted from her home on Tuesday night.
Skerrit, who is in the United States attending the Summit of the Americas conference, said that he wanted to reassure the family of Kernisha Etienne that the entire country “is with them.
Search continues for missing 12-year-old Kernisha Etienne
Speaking on the state-owned DBS radio, Skerrit said he has been in touch with his National Security Minister, Rayburn Blackmoore, who on Wednesday urged the police “to descend on every suspected area” where they believe the child is being held.
“I have directed all the state resources be used and …that we should not end all the search and rescue efforts until Kernisha is found alive. I have also been in touch with the French government…requesting the use of a helicopter, and they have approved it.”.
Skerrit said that he wanted to thank “the many volunteers” assisting in the search and rescue effort,” adding, “I will be there with them (family), my thoughts and prayers are with them even though I am out of the country, I am following the events…
“For me, this issue is even of a greater priority than the Summit of the Americas, and so my attention has been switched to our efforts, and that is the search and rescue of Kernisha Etienne,” Skerrit told radio listeners,” adding “I am very hopeful that she will be found alive….”
Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Southern Division, Leana Edwards, told reporters that the child was abducted from her home in Belles, a small village on the island’s western coast, at around 11.30 pm (local time) by a “suspected lunatic,” Kian Alexander.
Edwards said that before the abduction, the man had gone to his uncle’s home, Laurent Joseph Bruno, and attacked him with a cutlass inflicting severe wounds to his head and face.
“After that, he abducted 12-year-old Kernisha Etienne, the adopted daughter of Laurent Joseph Bruno, and disappeared with her into the bushes of Warner. Laurent Joseph Bruno was transported in a conscious state to the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (DCFH) for medical attention,” she said.
Blackmoore, also the parliamentary representative for the area, said that he was praying “for God’s intervention on this matter,” adding “it is a very sad and unfortunate situation.”
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