Suriname’s national police force has issued a pressing public alert over a sharp, alarming rise in missing person cases, violent incidents and youth suicides across the country, with data showing 56 people reported missing between January and early May this year, five of whom remain untraced. The alarming trend has pushed law enforcement leadership to hold a dedicated press briefing to outline the growing crisis and outline ongoing investigative efforts.
In a recent update, District Commissioner Patrick Kensenhuis of Para confirmed that two young missing men—21-year-old Serginio Ansoe and 19-year-old Gianzo Ermelo, who went missing two weeks prior while lost in the remote Tibiti region—have been located safe. This update came after local outlet Suriname Herald first reported the good news.
Concerns deepened last weekend, when a search operation for a missing teenage girl led police to an unregistered location where 13 young people aged between 14 and 24 were found gathering. Law enforcement has withheld full details of the incident to protect the privacy of underage individuals involved and to avoid compromising the active investigation.
During Thursday’s press conference on national public security, Police Commissioner Melvin Pinas and his senior leadership team dedicated extensive discussion to the youth-centered crisis. Officials confirmed that the problem extends far beyond disappearances: police are also recording a steady rise in extreme anti-social behavior and a worryingly high number of youth suicide cases across the country.
In another high-profile recent incident, four young people have been arrested and detained following a viral brawl caught on camera that involved uniformed schoolchildren fighting on public streets; the footage spread rapidly across social media platforms, sparking public outrage.
Inspector Sharveen Koelfat, commander of the Central Region police unit, explained that the vast majority of missing person cases involving young people stem from minors running away from home or school. A smaller share of cases involve hunters getting lost in the country’s dense interior regions. Crucially, Koelfat emphasized that none of the current open missing person cases are linked to kidnapping or abduction.
The discovery of 13 young people during the search for the missing teen—seven young men and six young women, all between 14 and 24 years old—remains one of the most high-profile elements of the current crisis. Police have declined to release additional details while the investigation is ongoing.
Commissioner Eshita Hunte, head of the police’s Serious Crime Division, noted that law enforcement is required to handle the case with extreme care, given that most of the people involved are minors. “We have to take into account that this primarily concerns young people. Suriname has signed international protocols that we must adhere to, especially when minors are involved,” Hunte explained. She added that the mere fact 13 young people were found gathering in an unregulated, off-grid location is itself cause for deep public concern. The police’s Trafficking in Persons and Youth Affairs divisions have been assigned to lead the ongoing investigation into the incident.