It has been seven days since the normally quiet community of Indian Creek Village in Toledo unexpectedly captured national public attention, and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the disappearance of First Alcalde Marcus Canti has yet to lift. Though Canti returned to his home just 36 hours after he suddenly vanished from his rural property, public demand for answers has only grown in the days since his reappearance. The local leader claims he was abducted by two unknown assailants, but law enforcement has released no official updates on the case, leaving residents and observers demanding full transparency and accountability from authorities.
On April 13, Canti disappeared without warning from his family farm. He resurfaced before dawn on April 15 on the outer edges of the village, unharmed beyond minor injuries but offering little detail about what transpired during his absence. According to initial police accounts, Canti told investigators he was taken against his will from his property by two men, held captive, and later released. Beyond that basic statement, no further information has been made public, leaving the unusual incident shrouded in ambiguity.
When pressed by reporters last week about whether investigators had confirmed Canti’s account of a forced abduction, ACP Hilberto Romero, head of the National Crime Investigation Branch, confirmed that the probe was still active. “We are carrying out a thorough investigation and so we’ll have all the facts when his statement is concluded today. So that is all I know at this time,” Romero stated on April 16.
To date, law enforcement has not issued any formal update on the reported abduction, beyond confirming that Canti presented with minor bruises and soreness when he returned home. While Canti was still missing, two leading local groups—the Toledo Alcalde Association and Maya Leaders Alliance—launched a community search and called on authorities to release all available information. But after Canti’s return, efforts to secure public clarity have hit a wall. Multiple attempts by News Five to contact Canti directly for comment have received no response, and a joint public statement released by the two organizations on Friday offered no new details, only noting that the incident is a serious matter and that a full official investigation had been requested.
Police have confirmed that five local residents were taken into custody for questioning in the early days of the probe, all of whom have since been released. Among those detained are three prominent local leaders: Indian Creek Village Chairman Domingo Choc, Second Alcalde Manuel Ack, and former Village Councilor Santiago Pop. All three have publicly denied any involvement in Canti’s disappearance.
“Each one of us was questioned and then we had proof. We showed them proof that all of us are innocent. So that is why we were released,” Choc explained in an interview on April 15.
Ack echoed that claim of innocence, saying: “The officer ask me, you know why you are here. I told him no sir. Then the man take a little minute and asked me again, sir do you know the Alcalde is missing? Sir, I don’t have no idea about that.”
Pop echoed the calls for full transparency to clear his name and the names of other detainees, saying: “I need to clear myself that I have not done anything as a criminal. So, I want to clear my name and the others’ name as well.”
Shortly after returning to the village, Canti traveled out of the Toledo District to receive outpatient care at a private medical clinic in Belmopan. News Five’s attempts to reach Canti at the clinic for comment were also unsuccessful. Adding another layer of uncertainty to the case is an unconfirmed audio recording that purports to capture Canti pleading for help during his captivity. Pressure continues to build on authorities to verify the authenticity of the recording, a step that has not yet been taken.
With the official investigation still ongoing and no new information forthcoming from Canti himself, the unresolved mystery of his 36-hour disappearance continues to hang over Indian Creek Village. This report was compiled by Paul Lopez for News Five, out of Belize.