Kidnap escapee relives ordeal

He was bound and gagged and almost suffocated, but his will to stay alive because of his two young children gave him the boost he needed.

Hope came around 3 pm on Tuesday, when he realised that the kidnappers were nowhere around.

When he could no longer hear their "rough voices and constant cursing," Harry managed to untie his hands and pushed the board used to cover the hole, using the little strength left in his body.

He got out just in time as rain had started to fall, quickly filling the hole with murky muddy water.

The nails in the board used to cover the hole stuck him several times, but Harry was determined to escape.

He pushed for more than 15 minutes until the board started shifting, and soon it was uplifted.

By that time, the hole was filled with rain water and Harry began clawing his way out.

He is convinced that if he had not made the effort to escape, he would be a dead man today.

Bruised, weak, and unable to walk, Harry started creeping at first and then began holding on to trees in the forest.

He was unsure where he was, but kept walking and, at times, he crept as the rain poured down.

Harry stopped to drink some of the rain water and continued his walk out of the forest clad only in filthy underwear.

"After about half an hour, I came upon a track and then a road and then a motorist," said Harry.

He said he told the motorist who he was.

He was given a pair of pants to wear and was taken to the Santa Cruz Police Station.

It was while at the station that he found out that since Monday night the Morvant police were searching for him in the Santa Cruz forest.

This caused the kidnappers to flee the scene.

At 10 am on Tuesday, the police called off the search but the kidnappers became scared and left Harry unguarded.

Harry was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he was treated for wounds to the head, neck and back.

He was allowed to return to his Aranjuez family on Tuesday night.

When Newsday spoke with him yesterday, Harry appeared to be in shock.

He said after being snatched last Wednesday, he was blindfolded, gagged, and thrown into the hole.

He was not fed anything for the seven days except for water on a daily basis.

He tried to escape twice and was beaten on the head and neck with guns.

The kidnappers told him that kidnapping is a business, and killing a victim meant nothing to them.

Harry told Newsday that the experience he went through is something which has left him with emotional scars. He is afraid to venture out of his home and is fearful for the safety of his family. Harry is grateful that the Morvant police acted on the information on Monday and attempted to find him.

He feels that were it not for their actions, he would be dead today.

Yesterday, he hugged his two children and prayed for their safety.

Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad are investigating.