Bonaire Burglar Stopped

[tuner fish]

Back from a week in Bonaire with lots to tell. First, great diving as usual. But, the one bummer, a burgler. Wife and I arrived on Sunday September 28th. Got a pool side room at Captain Don's Habitat. Started unpacking, got hungry, wife was too hot to go eat. I suggested we go for a 10 minute swim there at the pool, steps away. So we lock the door, turn out the lights, close the sliding door behind us and take 17 steps to the pool.
In for a swim, 3 minutes later, my wife says,"I just watched a man go into our room". I tell her to relax, it's not our room(I was wrong). She then says,"look, he just turned on the light". So I jump out of the pool, run into the room, scream at this stranger. He looks totally scared, tries to push me out of the way. Then the scuffle/fistfight/ tackling/mayhem starts. While we go at it, wrestling, exchanging fists, my wife screams loud enough to summon about 25 guests and hotel security.
Bonaire police arrive less than 5 minutes later. I join the burgler in the car, we go to the police station, I give my testomony and he spends the night in jail.
Later we recover his cell phone and hat in our room, all get returned to him.

I wanted to share this. I love the diving in Bonaire. This will impact my decision to return.

 

[StreetDoctor]

they took you into custody also?!

 

[Draq]

I don't think the burglary would stop me from going back, but my guess is that nothing will happen to the guy and that would anger me. I don't suppose they made any commitment to follow-up with you, did they?

I don't know this, but my impression is that even when someone is caught stealing from tourists, siphoning gas from rental cars, etc., nothing much is done.

Hopefully I am wrong?

Oh, I forgot to add...hopefully you made some calls to China or something before he got his cell phone back....

 

[jfcl01]

Accounts of similar events abound regarding Bonaire. I am at the point where I find it absolutely laughable when someone says "oh but Bonaire is safer than most dive destinations"...it's absolutely absurd. I follow chat rooms and local newspapers related to all my routine dive destinations and none of them have the constant stream of stories identical to these, which are routine on Bonaire. It's amazing to me how this kind of thing is normalized on Bonaire, perhaps because of the futility of trying to do something about it there. I have made multiple trips and love it there, but I won't be back. Until there's an economic impact to the police and the residents, nothing is going to change.

 

[DiveMaven]

I agree that Bonaire isn't any "safer" than any other vacation destination, but it certainly isn't worse IMO. We simply take the usual travel precautions (including leaving our truck unlocked and windows down at dive sites for Bonaire) and don't worry beyond that.

Glad to know you stopped the burgler....I hope he had a few bruises and a black eye (or two) to show for it.

 

[ronski101]

so the sliding glass door was unlocked or did the guy have a pass key?

 

[Diver Kat]

Heck of a story ... you would also think that the management at Captain Don's would have placed some pressure on the police to do more than keep the guy overnight. Can't say I would want to stay there after reading what happened.

I guess I'm glad our two trips we stayed at a small B&B in a residential area with a gated parking area and two large dogs that wandered the property.

 

[ItsBruce]

There goes another possible dive destination from my list. Fortunately there are lots of others.

Why is it that I suspect the cell phone really belonged to someone else?

 

[DandyDon]

They kept him for a night then gave him his property back? I suppose it could be difficult to prosecute the guy if you would not be willing to return to testify, but in such an obvious case one would think that a deposition would suffice.

so the sliding glass door was unlocked or did the guy have a pass key?

Got to wonder exactly how he got in?

I agree that Bonaire isn't any "safer" than any other vacation destination, but it certainly isn't worse IMO. We simply take the usual travel precautions (including leaving our truck unlocked and windows down at dive sites for Bonaire) and don't worry beyond that.

Glad to know you stopped the burgler....I hope he had a few bruises and a black eye (or two) to show for it.

How can anyone say that it's not worse, or the worst? The practice of driving rentals to shore dives is going to make car burglaries more common, but this is not the first report of theft on hotel grounds this year here, nor the first of a hotel room. I don't guess any changes are likely tho, since tourists just keep going there.

There goes another possible dive destination from my list. Fortunately there are lots of others.

Why is it that I suspect the cell phone really belonged to someone else?

Population for the island is about 15,000 = 20% of that of Cozumel, but we never hear of such there - yet the Bonaire regulars seem to just accept it.

15,000 people, the newspaper is published fortnightly, but as common as burglary is there, it doesn't seem to be mentioned - but then such would take up much of the tiny newspaper I suppose - and be bad for business.

The US State Department does suggest that all crimes involving US citizens: "If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance."

From the current edition: Bonaire Reporter Welcome Page

The tranquility of Bonaire was exploded by three unrelated serious crimes in the past two weeks. The story concerning most people was the abduction of 24-year-old Marlies Elizabeth van der Kouwe who was pulled her off her bicycle at 2:30 am Sunday morning , September 27.She has not been seen since. Her parents who live in the Netherlands are currently on Bonaire. Marlis was working as a pharmacist’s assistant at Botica Bonaire on Kaya Grandi. A photo is on the right. Her description: 1.63 meters tall, blue eyes, blond hair. The police are holding a suspect who had been recently released from prison in Curaçao where he had been incarcerated for rape. The detention has not led to the discovery of the missing girl. Exhaustive land, sea and air searches by police, Park rangers and volunteers over the past two weeks have been fruitless. About 50 policemen from Bonaire, Holland and the neighboring islands remain working on the case..
If you have any information please call Reggie Huggins or Sra.
Sharine Martina at 717-8015. Cellphone: 788-3983.
The second incident involved the attempted kidnapping of an
eight-year old girl from a local supermarket. She was recovered a
short while later unharmed. Her captor, who is known to be mentally
defective, was apprehended.
The third involved the rape of a high school girl. Six teenage
boys were involved. Details are sketchy in consideration of the ages
of those involved.

 

[jfcl01]

Any community small and tightly-knit enough to continue covering up/obfuscating to protect the local criminals is also small enough and tightly-knit enough and to make it all stop. That won't happen until all the uncles/aunts/siblings etc feel the pinch and realize that enabling the criminals is going to cost their and their community's own pocket book. It will take the locals' saying no to the criminal behavior for this to change. The community could take care of this if they wanted to. Let's see if they want to. I don't wish economic hardship on the innocent, but I am out of sympathy for what is obviously a large number of enablers/co-conspirators. You'd rather protect cousin Billy from the kidnap charge than have a viable economy? You'd prefer I normalize brazen robbery than have a viable economy? Awesome. I'll go elsewhere.