The authorities in Dominica have brought in a trained dog and its handler as the search of 12-year-old Kernisha Ettiene, who was abducted on Tuesday night, enters its second day.
National Security Minister, Rayburn Blackmoore told state-owned DBS Radio that the dog and its handler went into action at 5:00 am on Thursday.
“There are certain aspects of items that will provide the handler and the dog with some kind of guide, details of which I will not actually outline in any absolute detail,” he said.
He described the search as a “national effort” and expressed confidence that the child will be found and the perpetrator captured.
“The officers will not leave until that is done,” he stated.
Blackmoore pointed out that the search continued throughout Wednesday night and on Thursday more police officers will be descending on an area where they suspect the perpetrator might be, although he refused to give the exact location.
“He may be in contact and communication and listening to what is actually taking place,” he said. “So there are certain aspects of the effort that cannot be told within a public setting.”
The young child was abducted from her home in Warner at around 11:30 pm on Tuesday by Kian Alexander of Belles, who the police described as a “suspected lunatic.”
Since then, the abduction has captured the attention of Dominicans of all walks of life, with many flocking to the area to join search parties.
On Wednesday, Blackmoore said the French Department in Martinique had agreed to send helicopters to assist in the search.
In a statement, also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, expressed concerns over the matter and said that he had instructed Blackmoore to use all necessary resources of the state to locate the missing child.
He said the search must continue non-stop until she is found and found alive.
