(Trinidad Express) A search is now on for a missing father of two after his vehicle was found burnt in the Heights of Aripo on Saturday night.
David Neeranjan, 45, was last seen by his family at their Santa Monica Trace, St Helena, Piarco at around midday on Saturday.
His wife, Kendra, told the Express her husband received a telephone call before leaving their home to go to the market and drop off items to a customer.
Neeranjan, a sanitation worker, operated an online store where customers would contact him for items he advertised on social media. He delivered the goods to their homes.
In a telephone interview with the Express on Monday, Kendra said, “We went out and he dropped me home just after 12 and said he was going to run some errands. But as I was about to come out of the car he received a call. He told the person he was on the road and would drop it off. I didn’t ask any questions because this was not unusual.”
Neeranjan was driving a grey Toyota Corolla car, which he had purchased on a pay to own system. The vehicle was still registered to the owner.
Kendra said he began calling her husband’s cellphone at 2pm but there was no answer. “When he went out he would call every hour. And when he did not call by 2pm I started calling. The calls went to voicemail. I became worried because I knew this was not like him,” she said.
That night, Kendra said, the owner of the vehicle contacted her saying police had found Neeranjan’s car burnt. Neeranjan was not in the vehicle.
“The car is still registered to the owner so the police traced the car to him. It was found burnt in the Heights of Aripo. My husband was nowhere to be found. I went to the Arima Police Station and the officers informed me that a vehicle was found. There were no signs of my husband,” she said.
Relatives visited the area on Sunday, searching the forests and surrounding communities for information on Neeranjan’s whereabouts.
“I contacted all our friends and relatives and even the hikers’ groups in Aripo seeking help. We went to the area and searched all day on Sunday but didn’t find him,” she said.
Neeranjan’s family is now holding on to hope that he will be found alive and safe.
His wife said Neeranjan had no known enemies and had not complained about feeling unsafe.
Kendra said her husband had served a two-year prison sentence and was released last year. “He was a changed person. He became religious and family oriented. He was a devoted husband and father and took good care of us. He would never willingly stay away from us. He has two daughters in their 20s and he is a wonderful father,” she said.
The family is asking anyone with information on what happened to Neeranjan to contact the police.
Police said at this point the case remains a missing person investigation.