SSU officers carrying shovels and shot-guns at their sides made their way down a steep slope at Cap Estate and down the precipice where it was believed that the body of a woman missing since August 10 lay yesterday. Although police have not officially confirmed the body is that of the missing woman, Patricia Ann Lee, they are not ruling out the possibility. “The body is very badly decomposed,” said one officer who had just come from the scene. “It is hard to even tell who it is. We will have to wait until the autopsy to confirm.”

The police officers had been searching the area since the wee hours of the morning before they made the discovery. The police were able to confirm that the body was that of a woman and she was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Also on the scene was Deputy Police Commissioner Hermangild Francis. He explained how the police had discovered the human remains. “I received some information on Wednesday and based on that information I decided to have the SSU and the CID to go back down to the Cap Estate area,” said Francis. “We searched the remote beaches, like Donkey Beach and those areas. When the officers got to the particular area where the body was eventually found they noticed an overhanging edge and there was a stench. The body was partly buried when it was found.

This is a very disappointing find because I think everyone was hoping that if this is in fact Ms Lee, that she would have been found alive.” Ms Lee lived about two miles away from where the body was found. In her yard her pick-up truck remains unmoved and her dogs bark at passersby. The 61-year-old Briton had moved to St Lucia in 1994. Since her disappearance the deputy commissioner has been fielding questions from the UK press. “I knew this case would get a lot of media attention, especially with the recent changes made to St Lucia’s consular information sheet by the United States embassy. We have to look at this particular incident and investigate it carefully. We need to find out why Ms Lee was targeted and whether it was a concerted plan to get rid of her. It doesn’t seem like it was a robbery because nothing was missing from her house. There was no ransom note or anything of the sort.

“When these sort of crimes occur there usually is a deeper story. Had it just been a robbery or a kidnapping I think that everyone, including visitors to the island, would have to be worried but my gut feeling is that there is much more to this case. We are looking at all our leads and hopefully we will be able to solve the case and reassure foreigners if they come to St Lucia they will not be targeted.” Ms Lee’s disappearance has already made news in the UK Times and the Daily Telegraph. The STAR has been inundated with calls from overseas news sources trying to get information. The fact that Ms Lee may have murdered will be yet another stain that St Lucia does not need to its image especially leading up to Cricket World Cup 2007.

Maria Fowell, recently appointed director of tourism, told the STAR yesterday that it was important St Lucia get the message out that authorities are working hard to reduce crime. “The statements in the international media can easily affect tourism in St Lucia,” said Mrs Fowell. “We have always enjoyed a reputation of being a relatively safe destination and if there are articles out there that say otherwise it is certainly unfortunate. We need to see how we can address it. In the case of the recent stories in the UK, we have been in touch with our UK public relations agencies in order for us to determine how we handle these articles and to monitor any further ones that are published.

“Certainly we would want to re-affirm St Lucia’s commitment to safety; and to underscore some of the initiatives that the government is taking in relation to the police, the recruiting of British officers and trying work with the tourism associations. It is important for us to get this information out there, to put a balanced view forward.” Heavily involved in the investigation to find Ms Lee had been the British High Commission to St Lucia. The Commissioner has so far refused to comment on the police findings until an autopsy is done. The autopsy is expected to be conducted “as soon as possible,” say police.