"Why is my child?"

"Why is my child? Why is my child the devil had to send him to take? Why is my child?" the adopted mother of abducted 12-year-old, Kernisha Etienne screamed during a radio interview on Q95FM.

Today, June 14, 2022, marks one week since the child was allegedly taken from the comfort of her home in the late hours of June 7, by Belles resident Kian Alexander, who the police described as a "suspected lunatic."

According to the police, Alexander went to the home of his uncle, Laurent Joseph Bruno, and attacked him with a cutlass inflicting serious wounds to his head and face, then subsequently ran off in the bushes with the child.

"I am hurting; I am hurting for this child. I feel so sorry. I know she is hungry, how many days without food. Kernisha is somewhere, she is hungry. It's hard, it's just hard. An innocent child, why the devil had to come and tamper with my child," the mother who at the time of the incident was at church, said during the interview.

The 12-year-old's grandmother, Rosemary Williams, says she is determined to bring her granddaughter back home, and will not allow history to be repeated, as Etienne's mother went missing in 2012 and has not been seen by family or friends since.

"She was a child who suffered a lot in her young life," Williams lamented.

Dr. Honychurch remembers his father's abduction

While many remain optimistic, historian Dr. Lennox Honychurch who went through a similar situation when his father went missing over 40 years ago points out that while the public and the family are trying to live in hope, "it is best to live in reality."

"The point is that after more than 72 hours in the rugged Dominica terrain you are not going to find alive a hungry traumatized 12-year-old, dragged around by a psychopath who has probably already done his intended deed," he wrote on social media. "I had to live through all the praying and "prayer warriors" and the stories and rumours people brought to me about sightings and things found, although my father was already dead for weeks."

Given the wounds that the abductor has already inflicted on Etienne's adopted father, Dr. Honychurch said that Alexander knows he is a wanted man.

"As in my father's case, he is probably on the run far away from Warner and Bells. The forests, caves, and the rugged ravines of Dominica can hide people for years. In my father's case, the leader, "Pokosion", who had already killed a number of people and had similar psychotic traits, left the scene of my father's murder and went east through the forest past Delices," he recalled.

Police search unsuccessfully so far

Over the past week, hundreds of police officers, as well as civilians, have combed the bushes of Warner, Springfield, Layou Park, Belfast, Belles, Syndicate, Sylvania, Sultan, and surrounding areas but as of this weekend, the police say they have received no credible leads to locate the missing child.

At a press conference on Saturday morning Assistant Commissioner of Police, Davidson Valerie said the police have received up to 15 leads, including "visions", which the police have followed up on every single one, but none have been successful so far.

Earlier in the week, the authorities said that during the searches some items including a belt, one side of a pair of slippers, one nightgown, and a teddy bear believed to be that of Etienne were recovered in the Warner area and collected by the police.

A command centre was established in the community of Warner to coordinate the extensive and ongoing search. During the searches, the police have utilized drones, a helicopter and a K-9 provided by the French government to search for Etienne and Alexander who the authorities say has been terrorizing the community of Belles for the past two weeks.

-By Ronda Luke