[UPDATED] Forest search for Andrea Bharatt

Police are continuing their search for Andrea Bharatt, 22, who was reportedly kidnapped after getting into an Arima taxi last Friday afternoon.

Newsday understands they first searched on Monday near North Eastern College, Sangre Grande, then continued in Fishing Pond.

Close to 50 officers, including members of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT), Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Canine Unit police with sniffer dogs, Eastern Division police and the Defence Force worked their way through the thick forest.

Officers had to use the Defence Force's carrier trucks – large trucks which transport their squadrons.

The trail they followed was an access path to cocoa estates deep in the forests of Sangre Grande. Officers went three miles into the forest, following a narrow gravel-covered path, Non Pareil Road, off Fishing Pond Main Road. The search took them to an abandoned shack at the top of a hill. Nothing was found there.

The search wasn’t limited to the forests. Police combed streets, side streets, pathways and alleyways within a three-mile radius of Non Pareil Road.

But their efforts came up with nothing. The officers left the forest at about 4 pm, and regrouped in Sangre Grande.

Newsday understands the search will continue.

Bharatt’s distraught father, Randolph Bharatt, said in a brief conversation with Newsday on Monday, “I gave up on answering the phone. I told police I don’t want to hear nothing, I just want to hear my daughter is coming home.”

On Friday at about 5.50 pm, Bharatt a clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court, got into a taxi along with a co-worker at the taxi stand at King Street, Arima.

When she did not arrive at her home on Arima Old Road, her father got worried and started calling her. He got no answer until about 7.30, when a man answered the phone and demanded money.

The man threatened to harm his daughter and Bharatt immediately called the police.

A police press release on Monday said five people had been detained in relation to the abduction and were being questioned.

At least two of the men were collared on Saturday during a search for clues to the kidnapping in the East on Saturday night. Another group was detained after a foot-chase and a fistfight with suspects in a forested area near Azelia Crescent

Newsday understands CCTV footage helped police detain the five suspects and furthered the investigation. It was later discovered that the licence plates on the car the abductors used were fake.

Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith warned the media against giving out too much information on the kidnapping, as it could jeopardise police efforts to rescue the young woman. He said, “The CoP notes the media frenzy over this incident and points out that too much information on this case could place the life of the victim in further danger.

“(He) says the media has a role to play but when it comes to kidnapping, the (less) said the better.”

WITH REPORTING BY SHANE SUPERVILLE

This story was originally published with the title "Search for kidnap victim Andrea Bharatt goes on" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Police are continuing their search for Andrea Bharatt, 22, who was reportedly kidnapped after getting into an Arima taxi last Friday afternoon

Newsday understands they first searched on Monday near North Eastern College, then continued in Fishing Pond.

Her distraught father, Randolph Bharatt, said in a brief conversation with Newsday on Monday, “I gave up on answering the phone. I told police I don’t want to hear nothing, I just want to hear my daughter is coming home.”

On Friday at about 5.50 pm, Bharatt a clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court, got into a taxi along with a co-worker at the taxi stand at King Street, Arima.

When she did not arrive at her home on Arima Old Road, her father got worried and started calling her. He got no answer until about 7.30, when a man answered the phone and demanded money.

The man threatened to harm his daughter and Bharatt immediately called the police.

A police press release on Monday said five people had been detained in relation to the abduction and were being questioned.

At least two of the men were collared on Saturday during a search for clues to the kidnapping in the East on Saturday night. Another group was detained after a foot-chase and a fistfight with suspects in a forested area near Azelia Crescent

Newsday understands CCTV footage help police detain the five suspects and furthered the investigation. It was later discovered that the licence plates on the car the abductors used were fake.

But Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith warned the media against giving out too much information on the kidnapping, as it could jeopardise police efforts to rescue the young woman. He said, “The CoP notes the media frenzy over this incident and points out that too much information on this case could place the life of the victim in further danger.

“(He) says the media has a role to play but when it comes to kidnapping, the least said the better.”

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