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The
last time Hughes was seen last
time on Saturday, August 3, in
the Puerto Jiménez area, near
Corcovado National Park.
/ Judicial Investigation
Organization courtesy photo.
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Agents
request help in finding U.S. citizen
lost in southern zone
By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
Agents of the Judicial
Investigation Organization of the
delegation located in Corredores*
in the southern zone, call on the
public for information to find
U.S. citizen Charlie Edward
Hughes, 62-years old, missing
since August 3rd.
According to the agent's report,
Hughes, a professional accountant
in the United States, arrived at
the country, via air on July 26th.
He came as a tourist and traveled
to multiple locations with a
friend. This friend is a Costa
Rican national.
The last time Hughes was seen last
time on Saturday, August 3, in the
Puerto Jiménez*
area, near Corcovado National
Park.
Hughes' friend was the person who
notified the police about the
disappearance. His name is being
kept private by the agents.
According to agents, Hughes'
family in the United States has
already been informed. As well as
the United States Embassy in Costa
Rica, is collaborating with the
authorities on this case.
"The agents are working on this
investigation as a missing person
case," said the agents to A.M.
Costa Rica.
If you know or have seen this
person around Puerto Jimenez, or
have information that may help the
investigation, call the judicial
agents confidential number
80-08-00-06-45, or send a text
message to WhatsApp number
88-00-06-45.
The Judicial Investigation
Organization has informed us that
they have staff to handle calls or
text messages in English.
The most recent case of a U.S.
citizen who was reported missing
and has not yet been found is the
case of William Sean
Creighton-Kopko, known as Tony
Creighton.
Creighton is a businessman who was
kidnapped on Sept. 24, 2018.
As A.M. Costa Rica has been
reporting, eight Costa Ricans were
linked to the case. All of them
currently reside in pre-trial
prison.
Five of them were detained in
Costa Rica: a man surnamed
Vega-Aguirre, a woman surnamed
Aguirre-Leal, a man surnamed
Martinez-Chacón, a man surnamed
Ford-Dauman and a woman surnamed
Sanabria-Abarca.
Three suspects were detained in
Spain in August 2018. Four months
later, in December 2018, they were
deported to Costa Rica. Those
suspects are, a man surnamed
Morales-Vega, who was classified
by the agents as the leader of the
gang, a woman surnamed
Solis-Chaves and a woman surnamed
Vega-Aguirre.
According to the judicial agent's
investigation, this is what
happened when the suspects
kidnapped the victim.
In August 2018, a few of the gang
members forced the victim into a
pickup and drove to a property in
the village of La Trinidad in
Moravia*, in the province of
San Jose.
It was the home of one of the
suspects, Aguirre-Leal, who also
is the gang leader’s grandmother.
After taking the victim to the
property, the suspects
communicated several times with
relatives of the victim.
At first, they asked for a ransom
of $5 million, but a payment of
$950,800 was accepted. The payment
was made in bitcoin currencies in
four different accounts.
"Once the kidnappers received the
payment, all communication between
the suspects and the victim’s
family ceased," said the judicial
agents in its statement.
Investigators theorize that
Creighton was targeted for two
reasons:
- The victim had a good income as
a result of his company of
sportsbooks, and the gang members
knew the victim’s business
involved bitcoin.
- The gang probably thought
transactions in bitcoin were more
difficult to detect.
Judicial agents are trying to
establish what happened to the
victim and are continuing to
investigate new possible sites.
“We are not going to stop until we
know what happened to Mr.
Creighton," said Walter Espinoza,
Director of Judicial Investigation
Organization. "We hope to find him
alive, but we must find him in
whatever condition he is."
The A.M. Costa Rica team asks
readers to share this notice among
their contacts.
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Are foreigners easy targets for
crooks in Costa Rica? We would
like to know your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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