Police have revitalised their hunt for Kerran Baker after uncovering new evidence on Sunday in connection with two weekend searches by volunteers.

Detective Inspector Marlon Bodden yesterday declined to describe what police investigators had found, saying “We don’t want to give away our game plan to anyone who may be working for ‘the other team’,” a reference to people seeking to conceal information from police.

He said “the material” had been found by police on Sunday, and cautioned that “some volunteers had been around when it was found,” but would not discuss the time or the area of the discovery.

“We found some material and it is being assessed,” Mr Bodden said. “We will not answer any specific questions about the material we found. We won’t elaborate, but be assured that we are looking for any information about her whereabouts after 7pm on Saturday.”

Chief Inspector John Jones repeated the caution, and reaffirmed the determination of the police. “We don’t want to do anything that might prejudice the investigation. Considerable time has passed and we hope Kerran is still alive, but we also have to worry that something criminal has happened to her.

“We are not ready to call off this search, not by any stretch of the imagination,“ he said. “We have not closed our lines of inquiry.”

In another surprise revelation, Mr Bodden said investigators had scoured, in addition to the Shamrock Road area near Savannah and Lower Valley, the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, Admiral’s Landing and the grounds near Pappagallo’s Restaurant in West Bay.

He conceded, however, that still, “We do not have any clue as to where Kerran is or what happened to her”.

Miss Baker, 25, disappeared sometime after 7pm on Saturday, 30 July. After friends reported her missing on Sunday, police found her groceries and handbag at her Arrow Drive home. On Monday, searchers discovered her white Honda Civic parked outside Pedro Castle, followed on Tuesday by her car keys in adjacent bushes and a possible bloodstain on the nearby ironshore.

A series of official searches, including one by police divers, have turned up nothing. Two weekend searches, by approximately 100 volunteers on Saturday and approximately 20 more on Sunday, also found little, although police aided the effort, organised by Ms Baker’s visiting family, saying “we know how they feel”.

Police have also interviewed a number of people, including an estranged boyfriend, described by Ms Baker’s sister as “obsessive compulsive”, but have arrested no one.

Mr Bodden acknowledged that interrogators had hit obstacles in their efforts to speak to people close to Ms Baker.

“We have been made aware by various individuals that we are speaking with that they are concerned about providing various bits of information. They want to remain silent on various issues.

“A lot of people say they feel fearful, and we have been very blunt, telling them they feel fearful and that contributes to the fear you are talking about. If you don’t want to tell us, then tell someone else who can tell us, but we take this very seriously,” he said.

Ms Baker’s father, Wilmot Anthony, on island since early last week, said police had told him nothing about Sunday’s discovery, but was satisfied the search
was continuing.

Police have revitalised their hunt for Kerran Baker after uncovering new evidence on Sunday in connection with two weekend searches by volunteers.

Detective Inspector Marlon Bodden yesterday declined to describe what police investigators had found, saying “We don’t want to give away our game plan to anyone who may be working for ‘the other team’,” a reference to people seeking to conceal information from police.

He said “the material” had been found by police on Sunday, and cautioned that “some volunteers had been around when it was found,” but would not discuss the time or the area of the discovery.

“We found some material and it is being assessed,” Mr Bodden said. “We will not answer any specific questions about the material we found. We won’t elaborate, but be assured that we are looking for any information about her whereabouts after 7pm on Saturday.”

Chief Inspector John Jones repeated the caution, and reaffirmed the determination of the police. “We don’t want to do anything that might prejudice the investigation. Considerable time has passed and we hope Kerran is still alive, but we also have to worry that something criminal has happened to her.

“We are not ready to call off this search, not by any stretch of the imagination,“ he said. “We have not closed our lines of inquiry.”

In another surprise revelation, Mr Bodden said investigators had scoured, in addition to the Shamrock Road area near Savannah and Lower Valley, the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, Admiral’s Landing and the grounds near Pappagallo’s Restaurant in West Bay.

He conceded, however, that still, “We do not have any clue as to where Kerran is or what happened to her”.

Miss Baker, 25, disappeared sometime after 7pm on Saturday, 30 July. After friends reported her missing on Sunday, police found her groceries and handbag at her Arrow Drive home. On Monday, searchers discovered her white Honda Civic parked outside Pedro Castle, followed on Tuesday by her car keys in adjacent bushes and a possible bloodstain on the nearby ironshore.

A series of official searches, including one by police divers, have turned up nothing. Two weekend searches, by approximately 100 volunteers on Saturday and approximately 20 more on Sunday, also found little, although police aided the effort, organised by Ms Baker’s visiting family, saying “we know how they feel”.

Police have also interviewed a number of people, including an estranged boyfriend, described by Ms Baker’s sister as “obsessive compulsive”, but have arrested no one.

Mr Bodden acknowledged that interrogators had hit obstacles in their efforts to speak to people close to Ms Baker.

“We have been made aware by various individuals that we are speaking with that they are concerned about providing various bits of information. They want to remain silent on various issues.

“A lot of people say they feel fearful, and we have been very blunt, telling them they feel fearful and that contributes to the fear you are talking about. If you don’t want to tell us, then tell someone else who can tell us, but we take this very seriously,” he said.

Ms Baker’s father, Wilmot Anthony, on island since early last week, said police had told him nothing about Sunday’s discovery, but was satisfied the search was continuing.

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