Families fear for snatched sons
Stabroek News
November 1, 2003

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Mystery continues to surround the abduction of two men snatched almost a week ago on city streets.

Armed masked men abducted the men, Phillip Sergeant, 24 of Lot 6 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge and 23-year-old Andre Ettienna of `C’ Field, Sophia, on Friday night at different locations.

Sergeant was bundled out of his home into a green car at around 10 pm by two men, one of whom was masked. They told him he was wanted at Eve Leary after informing the family that they were policemen.

Checks by relatives later revealed that the man was not wanted, nor were the two men policemen.

Early Saturday morning one of the men called his father and informed him that he had escaped from his abductors at the corner of Joseph Pollydore Street and Mandela Avenue and that he was fired upon.

Since then his relatives have not heard from him and yesterday they were upset that police at the East La Penitence Police Station told the relatives of the other abducted man, that Sergeant would be able to help identify the abductors.

Sergeant’s relatives yesterday said that Ettienna’s relatives visited their home and informed them that the police officers said that since he had escaped he should be able to see the men’s faces and could possibly identify them.

“I don’t know how he could have seen their face and they were masked. And we are worried for my son since we have not heard from him since last week Saturday,” the man’s father said yesterday.

Ettienna was abducted around the same time on Norton Street while sitting on the roadside with friends. Two masked men with guns had got out of a white car and after searching him and his friends forced him into the car.

Yesterday, Ettienna’s relatives confirmed that the police told them that Sergeant’s family would be able to help them in identifying his abductors since it was the same men who had committed the acts.

Police yesterday said that there had been no further developments.