Sergeant Ramon Aguilar has been missing for 8 days; and as many as 300 BDF soldiers led by a battalion commander are searching 300 square miles of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve for him. That search is on the ground and in the air and this afternoon 7NEWS was onboard the BDF Defender as the aerial search team headed out.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This afternoon Lorna Aguilar joined the BDF for an aerial flyover of the area where they've been searching for her missing husband, BDF Sergeant Ramon Aguilar. The media was allowed onboard the BDF Defender.
Captain Ravei Nunez,
"We'll be leaving from Phillip Goldson International Airport flying soutbwest to the Rio Blanco Area. The distance is approximately 75 nautical miles and it will take us about 30 to 40 minutes to get to our initial search
area. From there we will be searching from the Rio Blanco area as far north as Caracol ruins using the border with Guatemala as our western most reference and then a main road which trails off into a track traveling roughly south as our eastern most boundary for the search."
We were airborne in minutes. We traveled east and then west. At all times it was over land and most terrain was like this - mountainous and hilly. And as you can see there is a lot of trees and from the altitude we flew at this afternoon, there was low visibility. BDF Captain Ravei Nunez says they have also had to deal with the weather.
Captain Ravei Nunez,
"We've done one flight on Monday, a fairly long flight, and we've attempted several flights during the week. However inclement weather has prevented us from searching the area as effectively as we would like to. So we are just continuing the search."
Keith Swift,
What about the issue of dense vegetation.
Captain Ravei Nunez,
"You're right, the area is densely vegetated. It is extremely mountainous terrain. What we are looking for primarily are rivers and streams where you'll be able to see down to the ground as well as tracks and roads. Other than that, you are right, it is extremely difficult for us to be looking for someone under those conditions but it is an operation that we feel needs to continue."
The trip afforded Aguilar's wife a bird's eye of the vast expanse in which
her husband has been lost for the 9 nights. She respectfully declined to speak with the media but at all times her eyes were glued to the window and the world below. But despite the difficulties in searching, 3,000 feet in the air, Captain Nunez says today's flight was successful yet because they have been able to identify tracks which are like footprints for a lost soldier in the jungle.
Captain Ravei Nunez,
"Today was actually a bit easier than flights we've had the two previous days, especially Monday and Tuesday. The weather has gotten a bit better so we can come into the area more often and be able to search the areas that we really wanted to."
And though we all returned from the flight without success, Captain Nunez says his team and will do it all over again tomorrow. Why? Well because it's personal this time.
Captain Ravei Nunez,
"It is a fraternity but it is not very large. There are not that many people in the Belize Defense Force. You know almost everyone by name that works within your unit and he works just over at Price Barracks. So I know him, I see him almost everyday going to and from work. I've spoken to him on numerous occasions so I consider him much more than acquaintance, of course, a colleague. And considering the fact that all soldiers do fairly similar training, we have fairly similar experiences, most of the backgrounds are similar. We have a lot in common and we share this bound that it is difficult to explain."
Lt. Col. Black told us that the caves branch search team and their dogs have withdrawn from the effort. He says he hopes they return since they are the only ones with a tracking dog.
