Archive for February, 2012
‘We were having great time’ says missing man’s girl
(CNS): Lisa Beck revealed her anguish Wednesday morning as she spoke about the moments before her fiancé, Nathan Clarke, seemed to disappear into thin air. In a missing person case that has the RCIPS and everyone baffled, Nathan was there one moment, a short distance away from where his girlfriend and other friends were sitting outside Calico Jack's, and gone the next. He has not been seen since around 8:30pm on Saturday evening (25 February) when the couple were relaxing and enjoying themselves with friends from overseas who were visiting Lisa and Nathan, who live in West Bay.
“We were just having a great time; we were happy,” Lisa said. The couple, who have been together for eight years and had been hoping to stay in Cayman for some time, had been enjoying drinks at sunset. Lisa said they were having fun because they had been on holiday from work that week.
They were not drunk, although they had enjoyed some beers at Calico Jack's. She said that just before he disappeared, Nathan was just hanging down by the water’s edge. She said she did not see him speaking to anyone on the beach and although it was dark, it was fairly quiet with few people around and there was no loud music. Lisa recalled how she could see him just a short distance away. She turned around to chat for a few minutes with the couple’s friends, and when she looked back he had gone.
Assuming that he had just walked on a little, Lisa said, the crowd also began to walk along the beach. After about a half hour, when it was clear Nathan was no longer near her or their other friends, she tried calling his phone and texting but to no avail. She said that the phone did not ring but went to Nathan’s voice mail.
Describing her fiancé, Lisa said he used to be a watersports instructor and was amazing with young people. She said he was a fantastic kayaker and that he windsurfed, sailed and loved to be on the water. He was also a keen traveller, she said, so when she got a job here in the Cayman Islands, Nathan had jumped at the chance to come.
At first Nathan had taken a job working on the beach with a watersports operator, but when the couple decided they would like to stay longer and because he missed teaching and being around kids, he took a job as a teachers' aide at Cayman Prep and began studying for a qualification in education.
Lisa said it would be completely out of character for Nathan to go off and do something without telling her because the couple did everything together.
Supported at the press conference Wednesday morning by her parents, who have just arrived in Cayman, Lisa thanked the volunteers and said the RCIPS had been very supportive throughout the ordeal.
Her parents also expressed their gratitude for the kindness people in Cayman had shown to their daughter as they helped in the search for Nathan. Lisa’s father, Philip Beck, described Nathan as an easy going, extremely likeable person. He said the support from the community during the search was a testament to the kind of person he was.
The officer in charge of the enquiry revealed that four days into the search for Nathan there were no indications or evidence that could point to what had happened to the 31-year-old man, but he said they would not give up hope. DS Marlon Bodden said more than 25 officers and dozens of volunteers, along with specialist dogs, were all involved in the search.
Althpugh the police helicopter was overseas for a previously scheduled service in order to comply with civil aviation regulations, he said the police were utilizing the marine vessels and the mosquito control and the MRCU fixed-wing aircraft was being deployed in the search.
The search is continuing on both land and sea from the area Nathan was last seen out towards Salt Creek and Governor’s Beach, and police were widening the search as volunteers continued to support police teams.
CCTV footage is being taken from units at local business and condos and the signal on Nathan’s phone formed part of the enquiry. However, Bodden said that for operational reasons he could not reveal the details regarding the signals from the handset, which has not yet been recovered.
Anyone with information or pictures and footage of Nathan from Saturday evening can contact the RCIPS on on 949 3999 or 949 3990 or email nathanclarkeinfo@yahoo.com
For informaiton on joining the searches contact the RCIPS command point at public beach.
Also visit the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/161736110612977 – Find Nathan
See latest development here: Missing-man's-phone-found
Regulator issues email scam warning
(CNS): Officials form the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority have issued an alert that an e-mail being sent to individuals and companies around Grand Cayman purporting to be from them has not come from the regulator. CIMA said it is aware that several people have received the correspondence which is asking for accounts and personal identity information in order to update its client records. The email, with the subject line ‘Cayman Islands Account Holders Update’, claims the information is needed as part of the process for non-resident account holders to gain tax exemption certificates but it has nothing at all to do with the monetary authority.
“CIMA advises its licensees, registrants, and the public that it has not issued any such request. The email is therefore a scam,” a spokesperson for the regulator said. “Persons receiving such an email should not respond to it and are advised to contact the Financial Crime Unit of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.”
The RCIPS FCU can be contacted on (345) 949-8797
Missing man’s phone found
(CNS): The phone that Nathan Clarke had with him the evening he disappeared has been recovered from the ocean, a police spokesperson confirmed this morning (Thursday 1 March). Officers searching for the 31-year-old missing teachers' aide recovered a cell phone on Wednesday afternoon in the sea off public beach about 50 metres offshore and in around 10 feet of water. Police say that after examination they can confirm that the phone was Nathan's and that his fiancée and family have been made aware of the development. No other property or trace of Nathan has been found, despite extensive searches involving RCIPS officers and scores of civilian volunteers. . (Photo: Nathan on 24 February)
Clarke was last seen near Calico Jack's on Saturday evening, and since he was reported missing to the police on Sunday teams of volunteers and officers have been searching for the British native. Lisa Beck, Clarke’s girlfriend, last saw him by the water's edge at around 8:30pm but after she looked away for a matter of minutes she had lost sight of her him.
On Wednesday morning at an organised press briefing Lisa, flanked by her parents, who had flown into Cayman from London to support her during what is a very difficult time, said that she wanted to thank the many volunteers that had been helping with the search.
“Since Nathan went missing I have been so busy looking for him I have not had chance to say thanks to all our friends,” she said, adding that she was grateful to them for staying strong and positive and searching non-stop, as well as coming up with ideas as to where to look. Through tears, she expressed her gratitude to all those who don't even know Nathan that have helped.
DS Bodden urged people not to speculate about what had happened to Nathan and said investigators were remaining hopeful because “miracles can happen”. He said that while they were keeping an open mind, there was no evidence at all to suggest that Nathan's disappearance was linked in any way to any other missing person investigation.
The teachers' aide is the third person to go missing in just over twelve months. Anna Evans disappeared from the George Town landfill in January last year, while Kerry Ann Baker disappeared from her own Bodden Town apartment in July.
Bodden asked anyone who had taken pictures on Saturday evening at Calico's that may have caught the missing man in a snap or on video footage to forward the pictures to a special information email line that has been set up nathanclarkeinfo@yahoo.com.
Anyone with any information on Nathan Clark can call the RCIPs on 949-3999 or 949-3990.
DHL Cayman Storm Champions
(CRFU): The 2011/12 Alex Alexander Memorial Season came to a fitting end with the DHL Cayman Storm raising the Alex Alexander Memorial Trophy for the first time since 2008. Since that time the John Doak Architecture Iguanas have held a firm grip on the trophy and the Iguanas certainly did not give up the trophy without a fight. The Iguanas, riddled with absences and injuries could only field a 12 man team on the 18th of February and the 3 man advantage should have meant an easy ride to the trophy for the Storm. Instead, and as if possessed by the Spartan army, the Iguanas controlled the pace of the game for long periods and all were shocked to see the Iguanas 6-0 up with 1 minute left in the 1st half. Photo Caroline Deegan
The return of Venassio Tokotokovanua to the DHL Storm ranks was again to be the team’s saving grace as his try just before the half time whistle turned the tide of points to the Storm’s favor. Whilst the Iguanas never regained the lead they kept within breathing distance throughout and only with a Baron Solomon solo effort late in the game were the Storm comfortable winners 34-15.
In the earlier game of the day the Krys Global Buccaneers subjected the Queensgate Pigs Trotters to their 6th defeat of the regular season to secure 2nd place in the league standings but the game was again a close run affair.
Going into the next stage of the domestic Cayman Rugby season the Pigs will be buoyed by the fact that the DHL Storm struggled against a weakened Iguanas side and will hope to earn their first win of the season and march into the DART knockout vase final against what is likely to be the Buccaneers unless the Iguanas can turn around their injury woes in time for their clash.
Next games 3 March 2012 at the Cayman Islands Rugby Club:
2pm John Doak Architecture Iguanas vs. Krys Global Buccaneers
4pm DHL Cayman Storm vs. Queensgate Pigs Trotters
Mac backs a ‘new’ McLean
(CNS): More than a year away from the general election Nomination Day, the premier has thrown his support behind John McLean Jr as his candidate of choice for East End. Although McKeeva Bush said that McLean Jr, who will run against the incumbent Arden McLean, is not a member of the UDP, he emphatically backed him at a public meeting in the district last night. The premier stated publicly that he would be giving the proposed candidate some $200,000 from the Dart donation for him to project manage a number of local community initiatives in an unorthodox move that would by-pass the official PPM member of the Legislative Assembly for East End.
In an orchestrated public meeting in East End on the very spot used by the opposition member Arden McLean just a week ago, the premier took aim at the current MLA and accused him of doing nothing for his district as he backed the younger McLean to take the seat in 2013. Although he emphasised that McLean Jr says he is running as an independent candidate, Bush made it very clear he had the full support of the UDP.
Bush said the young would-be politician had come to government with plans and proposals for the district, which he had presented well and justified his reasons for asking. As a result, the audience heard, government “was going to help him” and Bush said he would get money to open a community boxing and regular gym as well as a tourism and craft market, among other things.
Despite the obvious implications, Bush openly revealed that the cash he was giving to his anointed candidate would come from the money being donated to government from Dart as part of the proposed ForCayman Investment Alliance.
The premier claimed it was McLean Jr that had come to government first about getting things done at the school, although the current MLA McLean had said it was him that had acquired the government money for the East End primary school improvements.
Bush told the people of East End that, unlike their current representative, the UDP had tried to help the people, as he pointed to the affordable housing that had been built in the district and the work East Enders had been given under the nationwide clean-up programme. He said they would get more work when Dr Devi Shetty’s hospital project was underway.
He called out Arden McLean for not giving work to the people in the district when he was a minister and had the seawall built. He criticised him, too, for trying to take credit for getting Shetty to agree to build an old folks home in East End, as Bush said an assisted living facility had always been a planned part of the project.
Although the meeting, which attracted a large crowd across the street at the local bar, wasbilled as a government update, it looked very much like a UDP election campaign meeting as Bush spent considerable time attacking the district’s opposition member and praising his preferred candidate.
The premier did, however, cover many of the same issues that he had covered at the recent George Town meeting. He continued to attack and criticise all of those opposing the various projects that his government was attempting to get started and said he needed the support of the people for these projects to get them back to work. Bush complained that he had to “put up with good governance”, as he pointed to the auditor general and the governor, who were insisting that he follow certain processes before the key deals, such as the cruise dock and the ForCayman Investment Alliance, could be signed.
Ritz-Carlton faces takeover by creditor
(CNS Business): The owner of a $250 million loan used to build The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is attempting to take control of the development, including the hotel, residences, spa, restaurants and golf course, according to a report published on OffshoreAlert. RC Cayman Holdings LLC, which acquired the loan in May 2011, has filed suit in the Cayman Grand Court seeking an injunction against a number of defendants, including Ritz developer Michael Ryan, to prevent them from "interfering with" its attempts to take control of the development. Ryan still has a debt to the Cayman government of $6 million in outstanding duty payments. Read full story on CNS Business
Former Chevron boss get gas inspector job
(CNS): The Cayman Islands’ government has appointed Duke Munroe as Chief Petroleum Inspector to oversee the safety and regulation of the sector. According to government officials Munroe who is a native of Guyana comes to the civil service directly from the private sector and his former job as the Regional (functional) Manager for Chevron in the Caribbean. Munroe said having worked with the Cayman petroleum inspectorate in that job he was very impressed with the functioning of the department and its mandate as required by law which is what encouraged him to apply for the post.
"It was the most structured, well-defined and organized regulatory body to which the major petroleum companies were subjected, in all of the territories I managed under Chevron,” Munroe said.
Alan Jones, Chief Officer for the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture said he has a strong academic and engineering background and looked forward to his contribution to the office.
During his tenure with Chevron, Munroe worked in finance, accounting, legal, logistics and supply chain management, procurement and administration. Over almost 10 years in the petroleum industry, one of his key roles was safety, health and environmental stewardship.
“While these areas are critical to everyone in the petroleum industry, my role was more active in driving compliance in these areas. This involved complying with standards across the industry and its governing bodies. Further, my responsibility at Chevron covered 15 countries in the Caribbean and South America, including the Cayman Islands.
Essentially, in my latter years I managed the company’s assets (retail, industrial properties and facilities) in these territories,” he added.
Munroe has a B.Eng. and an MBA he joined Chevron in 2002 and said that working in one of world’s largest industry with an elevated potential for major hazards, an eye for detail backed by formal processes of scrutiny and oversight are important. “You need to respect even the smallest amount of risk and evaluate that risk constantly,” he said. “I look forward to the next few years in the role as Chief Petroleum Inspector and hope to build on the accomplishments of my predecessor and the current team in the department. The activities currently carried out by the department are indicative that the Inspectorate is evolving.”
The Petroleum Inspectorate (PI) was established in 2003 to ensure that sound industry codes of practice were adopted. It was also charged with ensuring that safety and environmental management systems are effectively developed and implemented and ensuring that proper emergency planning and coordination are carried out.
Additionally, the role of Petroleum Inspectorate is to assess whether the petroleum and compressed gas industries are adequately managing their obligations to safeguard health, safety and the environment by regularly conducting inspections of the facilitiessuch as the bulk storage terminals, service stations, marinas, utility companies, Liquefied Propane Gas (LPG) facilities, compressed air facilities, industrial and wholesale tanks and vehicles transporting petroleum.
Cayman cops involved in Montserrat police probe
(CNS): Officers from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service teamed up with officers from Bermuda recently to undertake an investigation into the Montserrat police. According to media and government reports from the UK Caribbean territory, one local officer serving in the Royal Montserrat Police Service has already been charged with assault and Deputy Commissioner Paul Morris has resigned. The territory's governor now says that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is reviewing the findings of the report compiled by Cayman and Bermuda officers that also allege misconduct by local officers.
Governor Adrian Davis said yesterday that the Cayman and Bermuda police departments had been asked to assist with the investigation as part of a reciprocal arrangement among British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. He said that at the end of the review, which is being conducted by the office of the DPP, it will be determined whether or not criminal charges or disciplinary action will be brought against other officers.
Governor Davis also said that a Foreign Office police adviser had arrived on the island to assist with the inquiry.
The investigation stems from an incident in Drummonds in December last year when two men were arrested. RMPS Sergeant Ottley Laborde was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding, disorderly conduct and threatening language, in what was described by the local media as a police brutality case.
Cop chopper out of action
(CNS): As a full scale search continued Tuesday on land, sea and air in the search for 30-year-old Nathan Clarke, the police helicopter was out of action for what officials described as operational reasons. As a result the RCIPS is working with the MRCU Unit using its fixed-wing aircraft for the search. Cayman Islands Helicopters has also been privately commissioned by friends of Nathan to assist. Meanwhile, the K-9 Unit and the police boats, along with dozens of civilian volunteers, have also been searching for the teaching assistant, who was last seen near Calico Jack’s on Seven Mile Beach three days ago.
Clarke was last seen by his partner and friends walking towards the water’s edge near the bar wearing beige swim shorts at around 8.30 pm on Saturday, 25 February. Police are appealing for anyone who has information about Nathan’s disappearance to come forward. Superintendent Marlon Bodden is overseeing the enquiry and said an incident room has been established at West Bay police station and he asked anyone who has information to contact officers there.
"We would be particularly keen to hear from anyone who was on public beach early on Sunday morning at Calico Jacks for the 'off the Beaten Track‘ event. If you were involved in the event and saw anything out of the ordinary on the beach on Sunday morning, please call us now,” he urged.
Nathan’s friends believed that he was planning to walk along the beach towards his West Bay home. A few minuteslater his friends started walking along the beach in the direction of West Bay but they could find no trace of Nathan, the police said. They then all returned to their respective homes believing that he would return safe and sound later that night. But when he had failed to turn up or contact any of his friends or his girlfriend, he was reported as missing to police on Sunday morning.
“Since receiving the report Uniform, CID, Marine and K-9 officers from the RCIPS, assisted by members of the public and friends of Nathan, have conducted extensive searches along Seven Mile Beach and West Bay Road. The water searches have involved four RCIPS Marine vessels and divers. The areas between the Kittiwake site and Governors Beach have been covered, extending over 400 meters out to sea. On the land side, over 60 civilian volunteers and police teams have covered from Governors Beach to Salt Creek and the Dykes. The RCIPS K-9 Unit has also been heavily involved in the searching,” a police spokesperson said on Tuesday afternoon.
CCTV footage as well as telephone records are currently been reviewed to ascertain if they can be of any assistance in tracing Nathan’s whereabouts.
The spokesperson said that a Family Liaison Officer has been appointed by the RCIPS to ensure that Nathan’s girlfriend and his family, who are located in Europe, are kept fully updated with developments.
Information can be passed on the following numbers, West Bay police station 949-3999 or RCIPS tip-line 949-7777.
Friends of Nathan have also set up a FaceBook page and are appealing for financial assistance to keep the Cayman Islands helicopter in the air. Funds can be donated via PayPal, or local residents can visit Dukes restaurant on the West bay Road opposite the public beach where the police are still co-ordinating searches.
GOAB can track workers
(CNS): Public sector workers are being closely monitored by the access system installed at the new Government Office Accommodation Building in Elgin Avenue. According to minutes from a senior civil service meeting, which have been officially released by the deputy governor as part of a new era of transparency, the system has the capabilities to record the attendance of employees who work in the building and their movements throughout the entire office block. Rich Sanfilippo, the facilities manager in the ministry responsible for the government’s new headquarters, said the system records the time employees arrive and leave as well as where they are going during the working day.
At a meeting with Acting Deputy Governor Mary Rodrigues and chief officers in the ministries and portfolios, the facilities manager revealed the capability of the office access system to recordworkers attendance at that location. He said it could provide reports to chief officers listing the time an employee arrives and leaves the office, as well as a detailed report of their movements throughout the entire building during a given timeframe, which can be synchronised with video footage.
According to the minutes, the chief officers welcomed this as a useful tool for periodic reviews and for following up on individual cases where attendance is a concern. They heard that reports could be automatically generated and sent to an appointing officer on a monthly basis for all employees but it was agreed among the civil service management that the reports would only be sent on request.
Staff movements was one of a number of topics discussed at a weekly meeting on 20 February and now revealed to the public at large. This is the first time that minutes of a senior staff meeting have been released voluntarily to the media, making them available to everyone. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has made history with his goal to usher in a new era of transparency in the administrative arm of government and allow the public some insight into the workings of the public sector.
The released document also shows that a legal expert has been identified to assist the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs in the review of legislation and policies in preparation for this November’s implementation of the bill of rights, which forms part of the Cayman Islands 2009 Constitution but which will not be officially enacted until the end of this year.
A report on proposed changes to the Public Management and Finance Law and the Public Service Management Law are also set to be circulated within the civil service, and it was also revealed that a flexi-time policy to manage public sector employees' working days will soon be taken forward and an official policy drawn up.