The family of the missing person Rodney Leysner finds it difficult to understand that the deployment of the private investigation team Armadillo Global Security (AGS) has not led to cooperation with the Surinamese police to date. The family has also received no clarity about the findings of the Dutch rescue dogs. About the speculation surrounding a possible love affair between Rodney, CCO at Rudisa, and Warsha Sardjoe, CEO of Rudisa Group of Companies, his sister Nathalie Leysner says she never heard anything about it from her brother. “It is important to us that all available knowledge, expertise and tips must be used to find Rodney,” she responds to questions from the True Time.
The police have arrested three suspects in this case. A fourth suspect, the ex-husband of Rudisa’s CEO, Ryan Kenneth Torilal is without a trace. The family cannot understand why no international investigation has been initiated and Interpol has not yet been called in.
“Something strange also happened. A dog team went to Suriname, they were completely shielded from the outside world and were not allowed to communicate with the press.”
John van den Heuvel
The use of AGS and search dogs
Thanks to the crowdfunding donations, the family was able to engage the private investigation team, AGS. They have done research from the Netherlands and Suriname and collected tips. The aim was and is to see whether they could make further progress in the investigation together with the Surinamese police. Unfortunately, that collaboration has not materialized to date.
Nathalie is also not aware of the findings of the Dutch rescue dogs from RHWW that were deployed earlier this month. She initiated this herself and Rudisa paid the costs. “I know that the dog team did its utmost and that they worked together with the Surinamese police. As far as I know, contact during the deployment was via the police. I therefore do not know what the team’s precise findings were.”
Crime journalist, John van den Heuvel, confidant of the family, says in an interview RENZE that the impression is that the police in Suriname – not the detectives who conduct the actual investigation – have no interest at all in solving the case. “Something strange also happened. A dog team went to Suriname, they were completely shielded from the outside world and were not allowed to communicate with the press. They were also only allowed to let the dogs search at certain search locations designated by the police, while there were also other suspicious places,” he said on Monday. RENZE.
Contact with Surinamese authorities
The last contact that Nathalie herself had with the Surinamese police was at the beginning of the disappearance. Then she spoke to an inspector. She has no idea what went wrong. But she no longer receives any updates about the research. “I also want to emphasize that I know that the Surinamese police say they work hard.” However, the reality is that the family still has to investigate and undertake a lot to obtain information.
“I understand that the police cannot share all information with us while the investigation is ongoing. Now we mainly experience that we have to learn a lot of information through the media. That makes the uncertainty and powerlessness even greater.”
The appointment in Saramacca
Rodney his family had indicated that he had a work appointment on August 15 — the day he went missing. He had not said where exactly the appointment would take place. Based on the video he shared with the family that day, it became clear that he was in a country estate in the Saramacca district. This raises questions for the family.
“I do not want to speculate about what exactly happened, but I think it is important that all circumstances surrounding that appointment are properly investigated. Whether the appointment was actually in the context of Rodney’s work for Rudisa and what exactly the business relationship between Rodney and Torilal was, I cannot say based on what I know.”
Rodney’s video
Saramacca is Rodney’s last known location. Afterwards, that video takes on a completely different meaning for the family. Rodney normally called. He didn’t just send videos of his surroundings.
“That’s why we noticed afterwards that at that very moment he sent a video in which his surroundings were visible and in which he also explicitly mentioned a place (Pireng…red). To me it felt as if he consciously wanted to let us know where he was. The question in the video also gave us that feeling.” A voice can be heard in the video that is probably Torilal’s.
“Not knowing where your brother is and what happened to him for a month is debilitating. Every day is hard. For us, every minute feels like a minute too long”
Speculations
Nathalie says that the family does not want to speculate or anticipate possible scenarios. Rodney never discussed a relationship with Warsha that went beyond a working relationship. “So I can’t say anything about that other than that we never heard anything about it from him.”
It is also not known exactly what statements were made by the three people who were taken into custody. “What is important to us is that all possible scenarios are explored and that no opportunities are left unused. We don’t want to have the feeling later that something was not done that could have been done.”
Heap
The impact of his disappearance is enormous. The worst part is the uncertainty. “When you die you feel sad, but at least you know what happened. When you go missing you keep hoping.”
She hopes every day for the news that he is still alive and was being held somewhere. “I have to believe that to keep the strength to continue to fight for my brother. We want to find him. We want to know what happened to him.”
Tuesday marked exactly one month after Rodney went missing. “It literally made me sick and I was in bed all day. Not knowing where your brother is and what happened to him for a month is debilitating. Every day is hard. For us, every minute feels like a minute too long.”
In addition to the fact that the family supports each other, they are grateful for all the people who help, for example by bringing food or assisting in other ways. In the Netherlands they are professionally supported by, among others, a case manager from Victim Support Netherlands, a media advisor from Namens de Familie, two family liaison officers from the Dutch police and Van den Heuvel as a confidential counselor.
Rodney’s children sent a cry for help over the weekend to Dutch ministers David van Weel of Justice and Security and Tom Berendsen of Foreign Affairs. They wonder how the Netherlands, as a country of which Rodney is a citizen, cannot do more to help with the search. We received the answer that Dutch aid cannot be deployed as long as no formal request is made from Suriname.
“We don’t understand why this isn’t happening. For us, it’s not about which country should do something. It’s about finding Rodney. If there is expertise available that can help, in our opinion it should be used.”
Family person
Rodney was born in Suriname and went to the Netherlands as a baby. He has always been a hard worker. He started in cleaning, then worked in various restaurants and then in telephone sales. When he was eighteen, he had his own clothing stores. Later he started producing and marketing drinks himself. He has also been a film producer for cinema films.
Nathalie calls her brother caring and a family man. When the eldest brother suffered a brain haemorrhage, Rodney played a major role in caring for him. After things started to improve, Rodney announced that he wanted to take on a new work challenge. “He wanted to go to Suriname because he loved Suriname very much. We discussed this with each other as a family and thought it was good that he took that step.”
At the beginning of this year he left for Suriname to work as CCO for Rudisa. There was daily contact via (video) calling. “That is why it is so unimaginable that there is now suddenly no contact at all. We miss him incredibly.”
Next steps
The family will continue to do everything within their power. “We continue to search for, collect information and draw attention to Rodney. We want the case to remain in the spotlight and for people who know something to come forward. This can be done with the police in Suriname, the family or with AGS via (email protected). This can be done anonymously if necessary. We do not accept his disappearance. We keep looking, we keep asking for help and we keep hoping that Rodney will come back.”
Nathalie says the family will continue to push for cooperation between the Surinamese and Dutch authorities and for the use of all available expertise. They believe that everything should be done to track down the fugitive suspect. As far as they know, Torilal has still not been spotted internationally and Interpol has not yet been contacted. “We don’t understand why that hasn’t happened yet.”
