By John Myers Jnr. Freelance WriterCLARENDON:
THE BODY of a minibus operator who went missing on Wednesday, was found near the Vernamfield airstrip in Clarendon yesterday.
The dead man was identified as Bruce Carter, 27, of Palmer's Cross, May Pen, Clarendon.
Constable Cornel Stewart of the Constabulary Communication Network, Clarendon, said that Carter's body was found with the burnt remains of his Toyota Hiace minibus, east of the Vernamfield airstrip. The police said the body, which was about a chain from the minibus, had the mouth gagged and the feet bound. There were gunshot wounds to the head.
Cons. Stewart said that about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, three men boarded the minibus which Carter operated from May Pen. On reaching Four Paths, the men asked Carter to make a short turn off the route. They later pushed the conductor from the bus and drove away with it.
Carmen Wright, Carter's mother, described him as "a very nice person", but added that he had "problems at times with the police because him operate the bus". She said that on Monday her son had a dispute with a taximan who had threatened to kill him.
Mrs. Wright said that her son's body was found by his brother, after they received information that the bus was seen heading toward the Vernamfield area on Wednesday evening. The family spent the night searching for him. On Thursday, shortly after 6 a.m. her other son called to tell her the minibus had been found but it was burnt up.
He was found prostrate with a black handkerchief tied across the face. Mrs. Wright said he had bruises all over the body and his pockets were turned out.
The May Pen CIB, which is investigating, has not yet come up with a motive for the killing.
