Five Boys Missing in Grand Bahama

The Bahamas Government has confirmed that one arrest has been made by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in relation to the investigation of five missing Bahamian boys on Grand Bahama Island. All five boys worked at the same supermarket and frequented the same video parlor on the island. The first four boys reported missing all lived within an approximately two mile radius of one another. Police have mobilized additional resources, including seeking and receiving assistance from the FBI and Scotland Yard in its intensified investigation. The Bahamian Government, in addition to pledging full resources to the police to support the investigation, is also preparing to announce a series of initiatives designed to prevent and respond to similar cases in the future. In the meantime, police patrols have been increased in the Freeport
area while maintaining police presence in other areas of Grand Bahama Island.

"This kind of crime is incredibly rare and almost nonexistent in The Bahamas", said the Honourable Cynthia A. Pratt, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for National Security who changed her legislative agenda to travel to Grand Bahama to focus on this matter. "Even one missing child is too many. The Government is committed to working with the police in any way necessary to find these children. Like every other country, we are not immune to such incidents, but we are also committed to making certain
nothing like this ever happens again. To this end, we will soon be announcing a series of initiatives designed to further protect our children."

The Bahamas consists of more than 700 islands and is home to nearly 300,000 people and hosts more than 4 million visitors annually.