Belize - Francesca Matus, 52, & Drew De Voursney, 36, murdered, Corozal, 25 Apr 2017

dotr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
51,299
Reaction score
142,631
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-woman-u-s-companion-missing-in-belize-1.3389803
[h=1]Canadian woman, U.S. companion missing in Belize[/h]
attachment.php

Francesca Matus, 52, was last seen leaving a local bar in Corozal, Belize on April 25, 2017. (Francesca Matus / Facebook)

Rifenbark said that, at approximately 11 p.m. local time, the couple left for home in Matus’ white Isuzu Rodeo SUV. At approximately 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Rifenbark said her friend Joe Milhoen went to give Matus a drive to the airport in Belize City, where she was to catch a flight to Canada.

Rifenbark said that, when Milhoen arrived at Matus’ Corozal home, the gate was locked and her SUV wasn’t there. She said De Voursney’s motorcycle was the only vehicle parked at the home. Milhoen also spotted one of Matus’ suitcases through the glass of the front door.
Rifenbark said Milhoen tried calling the couple’s cellphones, checked with friends to see if anyone had heard from them, and even visited the local police station and hospital. Rifenbark said another friend called the airline and was told that Matus had not checked in for her flight.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    73.7 KB · Views: 1,720
http://globalnews.ca/news/3413407/canadian-woman-missing-in-belize/
Matus is described as 5′ 1″ tall with shoulder-length brown hair and a slim build, and was last seen wearing white, denim short pants and a white long-sleeve blouse, according to local media reports. De Voursney is 6′ 6″ tall, has a chain tattooed on his right arm and was last seen wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt and camouflage pants.

Matus’ LinkedIn page says she is a real estate investor and property manager from the Toronto area. Friends say she has homes in both Canada and Belize.
 
http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=40160

attachment.php

Joe Milhoen, Friend of Francesca
"The whole thing is a mystery. We showed up and drove his vehicle which is a motorcycle was in Francesca driveway when I arrived at 8:30 on Wednesday morning and her car was gone. Her luggage was in her house. They got missing sometime between 10:45 the night before when they left the bar and 8:30 when I picked them up and there were obviously together, because the only vehicle he was is parked in her driveway and they were seen leaving Scotty's Bar and Grill together the night before."

missing27.4.17.jpg
"They both have cell phones, but as of 8:30 yesterday morning both phones were going straight to voicemail when you dial their numbers and neither one is responded to any social media. Their families have been contacted, both Drew's and Francesca's. They have not responded to any communication from their families also."


"We have spent countless hours since yesterday morning going down all the roads in the areas, trying to find if they ran off the road at night on the way home or just anything, any trace of the vehicle. We are working closely with the police department in trying to organized search. We are doing a lot of the search ourselves. We have people out searching and we are out riding the roads."
"We have rented a plane and we're fixing to do a flyover of the area to see if we can spot the vehicle. What we are asking the public to do is be on lookout for this vehicle. It's a white 1998 Isuzu Rodeo with a Corozal tag number."
 

Attachments

  • missing27.4.17a.jpg
    missing27.4.17a.jpg
    10.8 KB · Views: 199
  • missing27.4.17b.jpg
    missing27.4.17b.jpg
    8.6 KB · Views: 1,608
  • missing27.4.17d.jpg
    missing27.4.17d.jpg
    12.9 KB · Views: 1,625
"Fifty-two-year-old [Canadian national] Francesca Matus and U.S. national Drew De Voursney, 36, were last seen driving home from a bar in the town of Corozal on Tuesday night, their friend Nancy Rifenbark, who lives in Corozal, told Global News.
...

Matus and De Voursney were last seen leaving Scotty’s Bar and Grill around 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday night, Rifenbark said. Matus was having a drink with friends and saying goodbye, as she was due to catch a flight back to Canada the next day.
...

However, a friend who drove to Matus’ house the next morning to give her a ride to the airport found her gate locked and her vehicle missing. Matus’ friends checked with common friends, the local police station, the hospital as well as the airline, which confirmed that Matus didn’t check in for her flight.

Belizean authorities conducted air and ground searches of the area to no avail."

http://globalnews.ca/news/3413407/canadian-woman-missing-in-belize/
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/missing-ontario-woman-belize-1.4092086
attachment.php


New [h=1]Police find no trace of Ontario woman and boyfriend missing in Belize[/h]
[h=2]Pair 'well-liked'[/h] According to Rifenbark, police have been conducting an extensive air and ground search, but there's been no sign of the missing couple or of Matus's car, which she was last seen driving as she left the bar.

"It is a lot of jungle and bush and so it's not that easy," Rifenbark said. "So we're hoping to get maybe a helicopter or more plane activity."

She said Matus's and De Voursney's brothers are expected to travel to Belize soon to help with the search.
Rifenbark said she has never felt unsafe in Corozal, where she has lived for eight years. Matus has had her home there for four years, she said.

"Things happen just like they do everywhere else," she said. "It is a Third World country. But I drive around at night and I've never felt a threat like this."
She described Matus and De Voursney as "well-liked" and said they have lots of local friends. Matus lives part of the year at her property in Corozal and part of the year in Canada, Rifenbark said. Matus is also a mother of twin boys, she said.

Friends were posting on a Facebook page belonging to Matus, offering prayers that she be found safe.
 

Attachments

  • francesca-matus.jpg
    francesca-matus.jpg
    69.6 KB · Views: 1,526
The timing of her disappearance is interesting. As a realtor, she probably made no secret of the fact that she was leaving for Canada in the morning. Is it possible that someone decided to attack her the night before she was to leave with the hope that no one would notice her missing - that everyone would assume that she is in Canada?

That would point to an enemy in Belize ... an unhappy customer? What do we know about her real estate dealings? Was it time share? Was she buying and selling, or negotiating deals for others?

I also have to wonder why USA news hasn't picked up this story. Who is he and why is it her friends who are making sure the story makes international headlines?

Also, if she and the boyfriend were living together, why wasn't he driving her to the airport in her vehicle? Was he working at the time that she needed to be dropped at the airport? Did he not have a driver's licence ... I know he has a motorcycle?
 
Snipped from cbc link above...
...A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada would only confirm that the federal department is aware of reports that a Canadian citizen is missing in Belize, but would not confirm Matus's identity, citing privacy considerations.
 
Snipped from cbc link above...

That's weird! Her name is all over the news - presumably because friends are very concerned about her disappearance, so there's no need to protect privacy anymore.
 
I am asking a mod to change the title as Belize is a separate country from Mexico.
 
On Wednesday midday American national Joseph Milholen reported that earlier that day he went to pick up his friend fifty-two-year-old Francesca Matus from Serenity Sands on the Consejo Road in Corozal. Milholen reported that he was to take Matus to the P.G.I.A., but he was unable to locate her following multiple calls made. All attempts to reach Matus’ boyfriend, thirty-six-year-old American Drew Thomas De Voursey in Ranchito Village proved futile.

According to Google maps, it takes:

7 minutes (3.5 Km) from Scotty's Bar and Grill to Ranchito Village (link)


22 minutes (11.2 Km) from Scotty's to Serenity Sands on Consejo Rd. (which is in the opposite direction) (link)

Which way did they go?
Unfortunately, there's no Google Street View to see if there are any cliffs. I don't see any bridges/rivers.


http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/145436
 
There must be an assumption that they went off the road since they are doing air searches.
 
I am asking a mod to change the title as Belize is a separate country from Mexico.

Thanks, you definitely did the right thing! Had a dilemma when checking the appropriate box, no Belize option, but hoped Mexico would suffice for that moment.
 
There must be an assumption that they went off the road since they are doing air searches.

But what are the chances of THAT having happened just hours before they were to leave the country??!?!?!

:thinking:
 
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-boyfriend-missing-in-belize-friends-say.html
attachment.php


Drew De Voursney and Francesca Matus are seen in a photo provided by a friend. The couple have reportedly been missing in Belize since Tuesday night. (Courtesy of Joe Milholen)
Matus and De Voursney were reportedly last seen leaving Scotty’s Bar and Grill on Tuesday night. Barfield said the bar is about 10 kilometres away from Matus’s house, and the terrain has dense forest.

Since the couple were reported missing, search parties with 70 to 80 people have gathered, Barfield said, and aerial searches have been performed
.

The situation now is “very strange for everybody,” he said.
 

Attachments

  • na-missing29-1.jpg
    na-missing29-1.jpg
    71.7 KB · Views: 606
Belize is the first third world country I've visited and it was an eye opening experience. I didn't see the more affluent parts but did go deeper into the bush, through check points with guerrilla looking men carrying machine guns, saw bullet riddled vehicles along the roads, and buses with pictures of wanted men on them. The living conditions were very poor, people living in shanties with almost nothing but the clothes on their backs. Apparently drug trafficking is prevalent.
While there, I half expected to be ambushed, hijacked, and held for ransom.
I certainly hope for the best for these folks but do fear the worst.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
201
Guests online
1,646
Total visitors
1,847

Forum statistics

Threads
589,953
Messages
17,928,195
Members
228,015
Latest member
Amberraff
Back
Top