And while Aikman's family is understandably terrified by the news of a kidnapping, the police remain confident that they will find him alive. As we said, there is no new information to report tonight, but the police are following up on some leads. And this morning, the force senior command led by Acting Commissioner Maureen Leslie held a press conference to make it clear that it is an absolute top priority.
Maureen Leslie, Acting Commissioner of Police
"As a department we are doing everything possible to resolve the kidnapping of Mr. Aikman. We are concerned. This is the priority number one case for us at this present time."
ACP Crispin Jeffries, Commander of Operations
"You see the people at the table, this is only a part of the many people who have been meeting here in Belize City and Belmopan and liaising for the last 36 to 48 hours on this matter."
And Commander of Operations Crispin Jeffries says police are working purposefully and assiduously to get
Aikman home safe.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"We are working. We have acted on many leads. We are following up a number of things, a number of statements have been recorded as Mr. Guzman could testify and a number of things have happened on the scene. We revisited a number of places and we have checked out a number of places. There might be complaints to suggest that the police was a bit rough in doing some of our investigations because we had to visit farms and homes and a number of things in the Belize rural area."
But because they've been following up on every lead, the police have come unto quite a few bogus ones.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"We have received alarming information. I've received calls to suggest that the body is in the Belmopan area with the throat slit. We've received information from other sources to suggest that the body is in the water at Vista del Mar. All those things have been acted upon. We will not be running around like fowls without head. We will look at our information, prioritize them, and act on them. We are not dealing with a sensational game here, we are dealing with a life - a very important aspect and we want to ensure that that is our priority. Our team of people are not a bunch of kids playing at a game, we're professionals and we will act professionally."
And so far that has meant thoroughly investigating the scene where Aikman's vehicle was found on the Burrell Boom Road.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"There is no visible sign on the road. The vehicle, according to the investigators who were on the scene, who were there when the family was already there, confirmed that the vehicle was parked on the right hand side of the road coming from, if you were heading from Hattieville to Burrell Boom, parked on the right hand side, neatly parked off the road, stopped with the lights flashing. There was nothing to indicate that there was any debris, no skid marks, nothing to say that any force was used. From information, the vehicle was locked up. I believe from the information we gathered, Mrs. Aikman took a second set of keys with her to the scene and opened the vehicle."
Police say they also found a note - which was not handwritten, but with letters cut out from a calendar.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"Yes there is a note and we are confirming that the note was not hand written. We will not be sharing that note at this time. It is being kept for evidential value and for thorough examination. We are concerned about life and safety. We don't know what is their demand. The demand that they made, as Mr. Vasquez alluded to just now, is not something that we are empowered to deal with but we will act accordingly and we will act proportionally to whatever is available to us."
Police say that now they have new information.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"As we speak the latest information that we acted on is being dealt with by a team of officers out in the field. Again it is not information that we want to share, give away, but we are working on this matter."
But up to three this afternoon, that information had yielded no breakthrough, but still police are confident.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"Should there be a breakthrough of the case, which we are very very hopeful and we feel strongly that at a point in time, we may find Mr. Aikman alive."
And if it comes down to a tactical situation - Jeffries says they are ready for that too.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"If we should be involved in a confrontational like situation, we have resources that are equipped and trained to deal with hostage situations, both in terms of the investigations as well as extraction. That resource is being readied as we speak."
Again, a reward of two thousand dollars has been offered for anyone offering information which leads to Aikman's safe return. And the Prime Minister also commented on his disappearance today. We'll have that a little later.
