Aragon, Sr., was released unharmed
ORANGE WALK, Fri. Jan. 11, 2019– Orange Walk police have confirmed that they have one man in custody who they are questioning in their investigation of the abduction of Elodio Aragon, Sr., whose home in Orange Walk Town was burglarized yesterday, Thursday, after which he was forcibly removed from his home.
Aragon, 70, a former United Democratic Party minister of government and the father of current Minister of State, Hon. Elodio Aragon, area representative for the Orange Walk north constituency, was tied up, blindfolded and forcibly removed from his home, after all valuable items were stolen from the house.
He was later released unharmed, but the burglars/abductors escaped in his Honda CRV SUV, which police have not yet been able to recover.
Today, Minister of State Hon. Elodio Aragon, Jr., told reporters that his father told him, that he was at home between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. when two persons arrived at his home and entered his room, waking him up.
“… They quickly tied him [up] and blindfolded him, and proceeded to search the house. After that – well, he doesn’t really have anything in his home, you know, because he lives by himself. After that, they put him in his vehicle, and drove off. They picked up somebody else on the road – he said – and from there, they continued driving,” said Aragon, Jr.
Aragon, Jr., further explained, “And after that, he felt they went off the highway, and then they took him out of the vehicle, put him on the grass, and they told him to lie there and count — I don’t know — to a thousand, or something to that effect, which he started, and the vehicle left.
“They had tied him with his shirt or something, right. After that, he took off the blindfold, and he wasn’t sure where he was. So, he proceeded to walk and made his way out on the Posito feeder road, to the highway, to the Philip Goldson Highway, and from there, he sought assistance from a nearby farmer. After which, the farmer brought him to where I was.”
Hon. Aragon said he and his family are very thankful that his father was released unharmed. He said the burglars took all valuables from his father’s house, including his wristwatch, wallet and cell phone.
He said that he viewed the attack as an aggravated burglary. ‘And yes, they kidnapped him, because you remove the persons from their home against their will. All I can say is that, whoever did this thing, from my old police experience is that if you’re going to kidnap somebody for any kind of ransom or [something] like that, then you have to have some sort of plan. You have to take them somewhere; you have to make the call. And that was — it never looked like that was part of the plan,” he commented.
Hon. Aragon was asked if he thinks that there was some other sinister motive behind the incident.
“When it comes to the rumors out there, I want to dispel that right now. Everybody knows my dad. And everybody in this town who knows me personally, my friends, my family, and the wider public that knows me personally, knows for what we stand for as a family… So, definitely, we feel it when people put things out there. The media, and I’ve always asked the media, be responsible in what you do. But, I mean, that is out there, and we can’t stop the rumors out there because people talk,” Hon. Aragon responded.
The man police have in custody is Charlton Campos, 18. Campos’ father, Roberto Campos, a well-known tacos vendor, told the media that his son is the current boyfriend of a woman who was once in a relationship with Aragon, Sr.
The elder Campos said he was upset that police had picked up his son, who he says is a working man.