Penal family missing, feared kidnapped

Fear has gripped a Penal community after an entire family of four, including a five-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister, went missing and police suspect they were kidnapped early today.

Missing are Aaron Sooknanan, 28, his Venezuelan-born wife Paola Sanchez-Sooknanan, 26, and their two children Ricardo, five, and Isabella, three. Their home at Jhulai Trace off Penal Rock Road was ransacked, and their white Hyundai Tuscan is also missing.

The key person to say what happened in the house is believed to be Venezuelan man who residents found on the road at about 3 am tied-up and badly bruised. He cannot speak English and police were awaiting a translator, up to last evening. The hospitalised man is believed to be a relative of Sanchez-Sooknanan.

The drama unfolded at about 3 am when neighbours heard the screams on the road of the Spanish-speaking man who is unknown to them. Residents found him bleeding, a short distance away from the Sooknanan family's home. At the time, residents did now where he came from and how he ended up on the road.

Residents took the injured man to the Siparia District Health Facility and he was later transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. He remained warded.

Police said the word of the discovery of the foreigner began to spread at daybreak in the community. Sooknanan’s mother, who lives a short distance away, on hearing about the incident went to visit him at about 7.30 am today.

When she arrived, no one was in the house which was ransacked. All calls to the family went unanswered. The family's car was also missing, and she immediately contacted police.

Residents last saw the family at about 4 pm on Friday.