00:0059-year-old Caribbean Airlines pilot Daniel Kowal of Palm Road in Valsain North has been
00:06missing since Wednesday. He was last seen driving his Toyota Hilux Registration TCM1784. His last
00:15contact with relatives was around 5 p.m. that day. Calls to his cell phone since have gone
00:21unanswered. According to police, his vehicle was spotted in the Mount Hololo area on Wednesday
00:27night. Residents notified the police but claimed no immediate action was taken. Yesterday morning
00:34around 6 o'clock, the vehicle was parked up on that side of the road, which wasn't, it
00:41was obvious because nobody don't park on that side. And on the corner is Jane Terrace. So
00:47I make a phone call to the police. At that point in time, they said they had no bulletin on the
00:53vehicle being stolen or anything. The vehicle was then placed on group chats within the community
00:59to see if anyone knew who it belonged to. However, by 5 a.m. today, it had been moved. One resident
01:07was critical of the police, saying that they did their duty and communicated their concerns
01:13and that if the officers had acted faster, they would have recovered the car and probably
01:19have solid leads into Cowell's disappearance. I think if a report was made, they could have
01:24come and check and see. Because at this time, the amount of crime going on here, we don't
01:29know who was in the vehicle or who the vehicle belongs to, if it was in a robbery, whatever
01:35it is. It could be involving a shooter and they pack it up and leave it here and the community
01:41could have got blamed for it. On Friday, a team of officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit,
01:46the Port of Spain Division and the Air Support Unit visited the area in St. Anne's. They
01:52were aided by officials from the Hunter's Search and Rescue Team, led by Captain Valance Rambra.
01:58At 3 a.m. this morning, Hunter's Search and Rescue Team would have received a distress call
02:05from the daughter of Mr. Daniel Kewal, indicating that he was missing since Wednesday. He lived alone
02:12in Basin and so it is only last night or early into this morning, she realized he was missing.
02:19He said that the group responded immediately and was soon updated on the urgency of the
02:24situation, that Cowell may have been kidnapped.
02:28So what happened is on Wednesday night in the Springbank area, the vehicle was seen turning
02:35and apart from turning, the residents heard howling and screaming inside of the vehicle
02:41while it tried to turn. What we believe happened after that is that the vehicle would have made
02:49its way right here to the back of me and the residents spotted the vehicle late Wednesday
02:55night, packed up, packed up, nobody inside. He said that the group made their way to the
03:00location. However, by the time of their arrival, the vehicle had been moved by some persons between
03:07midnight on Thursday and Friday morning. The Hunter's team said they covered a lot of ground
03:13today, but Cowell had not been located.
03:15We covered a lot of ground from where the vehicle was spotted on Wednesday night to right here and
03:24then we went way up into the mountains where you have several police units currently.
03:30Meanwhile, police are also investigating the disappearance of a 58-year-old businessman,
03:37Imraz Ali from Kanupia. His son reported him missing at 1.45am on Friday. Ali was last seen home
03:45around 5.30pm on Thursday. He left in a white Toyota Crown registration PBT 7377. Since then,
03:54all attempts to contact him have failed. Police say investigations into both cases are continuing.
04:02Anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest police stations or call Crime Stoppers.
04:09Alexander Bruiswall, TV6 News.
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