Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
My daughter and son-in-law were held at gunpoint, robbed, blindfolded and bound in their rented villa in St. John on May 23, while on their honeymoon. Thank God, they are alive! They reported the crime to the St. John police and asked for a police report upon their departure on May 24th. We are still waiting for a copy of the police report and action on the crime.
Do not assume St. John is safe!!!!!
I'm very sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident. Can you provide us with any details so that we may be able to take the neccesary precautions to avoid this happening again? Thanks.
there is a a thread about this at...
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=usvi
That is absolutely horrible. I'm so happy they are okay. Do you mind if I ask where the villa was? (which bay)
I read the whole story and it was called Estate Rendezvous
for those interested in news account go to http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17591097
papabou
I saw the news article. Your daugheter and son-in-law filed a police report and should at that time have been given a report number so that within a few days they could go down to the STT Farrelly Justice Center and obtain a copy of the written incident report for $5. Obviously that was not an option given their short stay here.
Please have them immediately contact both Police Commissioner Elton Lewis and Raymond Martinez (Internal Affairs and designated government ombubsman between the public and the police force,)
The main telephone number for them both is (340)774-2211. Have your daughter and son-in-law call to get fax and e-mail informaton abd follow up in writing.
I totally understand that your attitude at this point is totally negative but the old adage about attracting bees with honey works much better here than a rant request or a demand. Trust me on this, please take a deep breath and I hope this helps.
The same sort of response occurred the VI TravelTalk site - where little info was given - and then bad feelings started. Turns out that they left immediately (next day) after this sad occurence.
Interesting that someone took the time to post on 2 travel boards, but not follow-up with the authorities. As I believe is required in the states when a felony is committed.
Of course no one should "assume St. John is safe." There is no place in the world that is 100 percent safe. But just for the record, this was only the second first-degree burglary to happen this year on St. John.
Two is still way too many, but, when we figure in the amount of visitors, the amount of people doing drugs that are desperate for money, and the ease with which a crime like this could take place in a secluded area, and I'm actually kind of surprised that it is only 2 so far. Don't get me wrong here, I'm glad that the number is low (and it SHOULD be lower!), but when we compare this statistic to other places (Jamaica, for example), STJ comes out ahead.
My sympathies to your daughter and son-in-law. I hope they find (and hang) that SOB! For the rest of their lives, whenever someone mentions the word 'honeymoon', guess what's gonna pop into their heads. These freakin' thieves have no idea what they are doing to people. Bastards! (pardon my language, please, but I get a little riled when there is nothing I can do about something so heinous.)
How unfortunate for this couple. Can you tell me if this was Rendezvous Villa?
Dear Beth,
The robbery as reported in the Daily News and elsewhere apparently happened in Estate Rendezvous. I really do understand the concerns which prompted your question but whether the villa concerned was "Rendevous Villa", "Casa Rendezvous", or any other Estate Rendezvous villa is not really relevant. You can bet your bottom dollar that the owners/managers of whichever villa in Estate Rendezvous at which this occurred (and others in the area) have been shocked by it and have done and are doing everything in their power to better protect their investments and homes from both an altruistic and financial perspective.
"Dee" was, I think, given a good perspective from posters here and it would be nice to hear from her eventually as to how (even if) her family members followed up on this. There are people here who are willing and able to help but she obviously ruffled a few feathers when she posted on both this forum and others the comment, "Do not assume St John is safe!"
Nowhere in the world is totally safe and no assumptions should be made wherever one travels. If you're planning a visit to St. John and staying in an Estate Rendezvous villa or any other villa in ay other estate, you will statistically be very safe and will have a wonderful vacation, so please don't worry.
