Chiriquí Chatter

There have been a couple things, that I have seen lately on the Yahoo Groups, that have caused me to think that it would be worth while adding a new category for posts. I am going to call it “Chiriquí Neighborhood Watch”. To me, Chiriquí is one large neighborhood, and it is our best interest to be vigilant and cautious.

On September 28, the following post went up in the Volcan Yahoo group.

At 10:45am this morning, 2 young men, possibly early thirties, came up our driveway in a silver, newer model Toyota Yaris. They told Gene they wanted to buy our house and also were looking for a finca for their Jefe/Boss. They seemed a little suspicious and appeared to be taking great interest in the items stored under and around the house. They had no licence plate on the vehicle or sticker on the windshield. When Gene questioned them about this they produced a Panama plate from behind the seat of the car - Tag # 302389. Gene took a photo of the driver and a rear view of the vehicle which I have posted on the photo database.

The passenger was wearing a white bandanna type hat. We are not accusing anyone of anything but in hearing about recent robberies and strangers in town, we thought it would be wise to post this for all to be alert and aware.

On September 29, additional information came in.

The left rear brake light is out on the Silver Yaris the subjects were in. The picture of the driver was shown to a local person who thought the driver looked like a Colombian. Also the subjects looked like people who were inquiring how much money was kept on hand by a local Realtor.

Yesterday, another post came.

Today, the guy pictures in the Yaris, Showed up at Frank Corter’s home and said he was a cousin of one of Frank’s construction workers. He said he needed to buy gas to cook with and a few other things and needed to borrow some money. He also wanted to see the church that Frank had built on his lot. Claimed to be a pastor of a little church in Cerro Punta.

How this fellow learns all the little facts to build his confidence game is a mystery to me. Maybe he has some friends here in Volcan.

Only thing I know so far is that he is from Bugaba. Don’t know his name but I believe the police do.

Good thing Frank checked with the construction worker who denied the cousin link. But I doubt that this guy will quit just yet. Be wary!

I will repost the photos that were posted related to these events below. As was stated in the original Yahoo posts, this is not saying that the individuals have or are doing anything wrong. However, their actions are suspicious and caution should be taken.

Another event took place recently in Boquete and the following alert was sent out.

CRIME ALERT…..
Last night, while driving home after having dinner at my house in Palo Alto, two of my friends were surprised to see a fire burning in the middle of the road. The driver of the car has lived in other places where this kind of thing spells real trouble, so she accelerated and quickly drove around the burning blaze. As she did so, young men on the side of the road threw rocks at her car, hitting the windows. She knew better than to stop….and she continued driving quickly away from the scene. She called me, and I called the police, and then drove to the police station to make sure something was done. The desk sergeant radioed the officers that had already been dispatched, and they were on the scene. I then drove the Alto Lino circle from downtown, and found two VERY helpful and concerned police officers who were in the road with their car spotlight searching the coffee rows on the side of the road. No persons were found. These two policemen accompanied me to my house and made sure I was safely inside. They said they would continue to monitor this area. This morning the same two police officers came to my house to inquire as to my well being and to see if any other situations had occurred. I was fine and nothing else occurred last night or this morning.

This happened between the Rio Alto Suites Cabanas across from the Palo Alto road, and the Princess Janca Coffee Plant. There are no homes on that stretch of road, so these youth came from somewhere else and obviously chose this stretch because it is dark and uninhabited. The time was approximately 11 PM. The method they used was to pile dead leaves across the road and light them, expecting that someone would stop to investigate the situation. Once stopped, I’m not sure what they had planned. When my friend did not stop her car, they had sizeable rocks at the ready to throw at the windows of the car. The passenger in the car told me the first rock came right at her window and had it not been safety glass, it would have shattered. The second rock hit the back window as they sped away.

I am asking that this be posted on the Boquete Email News because I think it is important that we share information of this type of situation, and that we are all alert and aware of what can happen. It is not my intention to arouse any fear and it is not a request for other stories or questions. This is all I can say about what happened, and my suggestion is that you do not stop your car, no matter what happens and that you report any incident like this to the police immediately.

The desk at the police station is 720-1222 and a secondary number is 720- 2145. I cannot express how impressed I was and how grateful I am, for the reaction and concern of our police here in Boquete. I could never have expected such a prompt response and caring follow up from the police in my own country of origin. I feel that the police here are especially sensitive to the situation of an ExPat woman living alone.

It is important to remember that Panama is a small country. Everyone basically knows everyone. This person talks to that person and this maid talks to her sometimes boyfriend, the neighbor’s yardman talks to his brother, etc and through the grapevine, various information about the inhabitants of the community get passed around.

Sometimes this information is used by people who want to take advantage of others. I have seen my maid call the police several times, while she was here cleaning my apartment, because she saw a car, with people in it, parked along our street that shouldn’t be there. When I asked her why she did that, she told me that often, people park to watch the patterns of the neighborhood and understand when people come and go. A constant routine is an open invitation for an unwanted visitor in your house.

It is also not wise to make it well known if you are going to be out of the country for a specific period of time. I am not posting this to create fear, but to raise awareness. This has become a world of technology. Many people now have small digital cameras that easily fit in the pocket. Capturing a photo of something that seems unusual, may make the difference in solving a future crime or even preventing one.

Tags: Crime