In the face of reports that his wife may have been spotted in Venezuela, Mark Sookdeo says his family may consider visiting the country to look for Ria themselves.
Last Thursday, Venezuelan news site Tane Tanae, which reports on the Amacuro Delta, stated unofficial information suggested that Sookdeo was seen in Tucupita near a known shipping company that covers the Delta Amacuro-Trinidad route.
In an interview at his Debe home yesterday, Mark once more appealed to the public for information on Ria’s disappearance, saying any bits of information can go a long way into aiding the investigation.
Ria, a hairdresser and mother of two, was snatched from her Nissan XTrail minutes after dropping her two children off at the Picton Presbyterian School on September 22.
A distraught Mark said he was also considering offering a small reward to anyone who could give information to the police.
“If anyone has any information, even the smallest bit of information can lead to us to finding her.
“She needs to be brought home to her family. Our children are suffering everyday without her.
“I will need to work out how much and how it can be done because I have already thought about offering a small reward for information,” he said.
While admitting he is still a bit confused over the reports that his wife was spotted last week in Venezuela, Mark said there have been discussions about sending a team of relatives to that country to look for Ria.
“We are still not 100 per cent clear on what is going on... but I will do anything to bring Ria home.
“We have talked about going there and looking for her but the details have to be worked out. I am still giving my full support to the police and I am hoping that they will be able to find her,” he added.
He said other members of the family have visited different churches with the hope of learning where Ria was.
“So far, they have been told she is alive and in Trinidad... that’s all that we have to hold on to,” he said.
The couple’s two children—Elena, nine and Tores, five—are not going to school on a regular basis and Mark is on leave from his job at Petrotrin.
“I am trying to establish a routine for them but it is very difficult to leave them alone and even for me when I am home and they are not here,” he said.
Since her abduction police released two sketches of suspects linked to the crime but have not had any leads on them.