A Canadian couple from Nanaimo shared details of an armed home invasion that cut their vacation in Costa Rica short. Louise Fleming and Drew Hammond stayed at a friend’s house in Tárcoles, north of Jacó, when four masked men entered the property on the evening of February 21.
Fleming stood on the balcony. A figure appeared from the shadows. “I just said oh my god, this is danger,” she said. The men held guns to Hammond’s head. When he tried to get up, one struck him in the face with a pistol and nearly knocked him unconscious. The intruders brought Fleming from another bedroom. They had already zip-tied her hands and legs and taped her mouth shut. They applied the same restraints to Hammond.
The robbers searched the house for close to an hour. They took cash, watches and sentimental jewelry. They loaded the items into the couple’s rental car and threw the phones into the pool. Hammond found scissors and cut Fleming free. He recovered the phones from the pool and called police. Officers said another similar home invasion had occurred nearby.
The couple left Costa Rica 10 days early. Marks from the zip ties stayed on their wrists for days afterward, and Fleming carried a bruise on her cheek. Hammond warned other travelers to choose their accommodations with care. “Five-star, gated, guarded properties are safe, but when you’re up where we were, there’s no security,” he said.
Fleming called for action from Costa Rican officials. “The message I want is for the Costa Rican government to do something about what’s happening there and I want the police to keep investigating and try to find these people who did this to us,” she stated. The pair said the experience changed them. They have no plans to return to Costa Rica.
The case adds to concerns about crime in popular travel spots. Canadian authorities advise people to exercise a high degree of caution in Costa Rica. The United States government and others have issued similar alerts. Tourism representatives in the country have asked officials to expand security measures.
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