BELIZE CITY, Belize, Fri. May 21, 2021– The bodies of Leticia Carrillo Frankel and Mark Frankel — a couple who had been reported missing on Tuesday — were found on Thursday, May 20, off a remote route branching from the John Smith feeder road.
Leticia Carrillo Frankel’s sister had reported the couple missing after they had not been seen for approximately 2 days. Her sister, sensing that something was very wrong, later visited the couple’s home, and found that it had been ransacked. She saw other indications as well, as she searched the house, that the family was in danger. Reports are that the couple was last seen on Tuesday in the Sunset Park community.
After Frankel reported that the couple was missing, the police went to the area and conducted an immediate search, but were not able to locate any of the two missing persons. On Thursday, a follow-up search that was carried out by the police and the residents of the community, led to the discovery of the couple’s 2018 GMC Terrain, which was found in a ditch off the John Smith feeder road. Some two miles down the road, the search party found an American football and a blue face mask, and further along the route they discovered the bodies of Leticia and Mark Frankel, which bore injuries resembling gunshot wounds. The bodies have since been transported to a medical lab on the Boom Road, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted.
According to initial reports, the deaths of the couple were apparently the result of a burglary attempt that ultimately ended in murder. Police are conducting intense investigations and have identified a number of persons who they have classified as suspects. It is worth noting as well that there are reports of a disagreement between the couple and a neighbor of theirs the night before their disappearance that required police mediation. Police are also considering the possibility that the perpetrator may have been known to the family, and was welcomed to the home.
The Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, told local reporters, “The issue of security is one the police cannot do alone, and as individual citizens we too must do what we can to ensure our own personal safety. From what we have seen, the home seems to be secure. It could have been committed by someone they know, and the person was allowed entry. Things we look at during the investigation to ascertain who was responsible.”
In an update, Supt. Alejandro Cowo shared police have since spoken to the family in trying to determine a motive for the double murder. Also despite the initial report of Mark Frankel not being known to police, Supt. Cowo shared there was a report made against him in San Pedro. Reports are that in 2011 Mark Frankel was remanded to the Belize Central prison on two different charges. It was also reported that he allegedly held up an American tourist with another man in San Pedro, forcing him to withdraw $500 US at point-blank range. Unconfirmed reports from local media are that a safe was stolen from his ransacked home.