BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THREE persons of interest are in police in custody in relation to the disappearance of 17-year-old Leanna Napoleon, who has not been heard from or seen over the past two weeks.
Chief among those in custody is the brother of the teen, who was reportedly the last person to have seen and engaged her before she went missing.
At a press conference today (May 22), it was announced that the brother, whose name was not given by investigators of the Special Victims Unit (SVU), was the last person to engage her when she went to uplift an envelope with monies reportedly from the sale of a family vehicle.
Sergeant Lyndita Powell told reporters that they were at the press conference with a heavy heart because one of the nation’s youth is missing and noted that everyone should be affected.
She explained that the SVU has thus far conducted five searches in areas that the teen might have been seen, but “unfortunately, to date, we have no concrete evidence” to her whereabouts.
“However, we have three persons of interest in police custody. One of the persons is her brother. This would be the fourth time that we would have him in police custody. We are doing all that is necessary [and] we are not leaving any stones unturned in trying to find Leanna and trying to bring her back to her family and friends safely.”
The SVU representative noted that some persons went forward and gave information on what “they might have heard”. She however noted that there are a lot of rumours circulating which often lead the police on chases and distracting from the investigation.
Sergeant Powell added that it is a daunting task that they are taking very seriously, as a number of agencies and public-spirited citizens are assisting with search operations.
Pressed on the fact that police have no concrete evidence but three persons are in custody, the Sergeant noted that they are persons of interest who might have last seen the missing teen just before she went missing, but stopped short of giving further information.
In relation to her brother, the sleuth disclosed that he is not cooperating with them and that has given law enforcement officials the need to have him rearrested.
“We are not giving up! As to whether or not she is dead or alive, we are hoping that she is alive. We have no evidence to suggest that she is dead, and we are hoping that she would be alive. But we are pressing forward with the brother and we would continue to press until we get something that would lead us to where she is.”
Officers on Nevis have also been called into action as they too are conducting search operations on that island and on the lookout for the teen.
According to Sergeant Powell, they have been reviewing surveillance cameras and have gathered necessary information from those cameras at some business establishments.
However, they did not make any break in the case from phone and other personal records of the teen.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and calls are being made for the teen’s safe return.
