SURINAME-Search dogs complete mission in businessman’s disappearance case.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – A specialized Dutch search and rescue dog team has completed an assignment here as part of the investigation into the disappearance of local businessman and film producer Rodney Leysner.

Police spokesman, Michael Elskamp, said that although Leysner was not found, the searches produced relevant leads that investigators will pursue.

The team, consisting of 15 specialists and 10 rescue dogs, arrived in Suriname on August 31 and was deployed through September 6 at several locations connected to the investigation.

According to the police spokesman, most of the operation was concentrated in the district of Saramacca, where Leysner’s burned-out vehicle was previously discovered buried in a swampy area.

Search dogs were also deployed on property belonging to one of the three suspects detained in connection with the case, as well as on an adjoining property.

On September 5, the dogs were additionally used to examine the wreckage of Leysner’s vehicle after it had been taken to a police station and lodged as evidence.

No body was recovered during the searches. Excavations at a location where the dogs had detected a scent also failed to produce human remains. However, Elskamp said the operation yielded information considered relevant to the continuing investigation. Police have declined to disclose the nature of these findings because the criminal investigation is still ongoing.

Leysner, 52, disappeared on August 15 after leaving for a work-related appointment. He had moved from the Netherlands to Suriname earlier this year and had recently joined the management of Suriname’s multinational Rudisa International N.V.

Leysner is best known as the producer of the Dutch films “Heksen bestaan niet” (2014) and “Fashion Chicks” (2015), each of which earned a Golden Film award for attracting more than 100,000 cinema visitors. He also worked on the film “Suriname”.

His disappearance prompted an extensive criminal investigation, and on August 21, investigators recovered a burned and severely crushed vehicle from a swamp in Saramacca. Subsequent examination of the chassis number established that it was the vehicle Leysner had been driving when he disappeared.

Three suspects, a Cuban couple and a Surinamese national, are assisting police with their investigations. Authorities have also issued a wanted notice for another person, who is being sought in connection with several offenses including murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault and unlawful deprivation of liberty.

The Dutch rescue dog operation was conducted in coordination with Surinamese police units, including the Capital Crimes Department, Forensic Investigation and the Drone Unit, under instructions from the Public Prosecution Service.