Noel Thompson, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE UNITED States' Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has taken all the exhibits collected from the home of Anthony Grant, the bartender who reportedly dated missing travel writer Claudia Kirschhoch, leaving Jamaican forensic experts empty-handed, The Sunday Gleaner understands.
This was confirmed on Friday by Sharon Brydson, deputy director in the Government's Forensic Laboratory.
"There was no need for us to keep any (exhibits) because the FBI was working with the smell of a dog," Miss Brydson said. "They had other exhibits from Miss Kirschhoch, but we have nothing."
Meanwhile, the FBI said it is still not able to make any conclusion about the disappearance of Miss Kirschhoch, who went missing in Jamaica three months ago.
"At this stage we are still classifying the case as a disappearance. We have no clear-cut evidence to indicate that there has been any harm, or that we have a crime," said FBI's Supervising Agent Michael Bonner, speaking from his Miami office on Friday.
When asked how confident the Jamaican people should be that the FBI's investigation would be forthright in the Kirschhoch case, and about past allegations of contamination of evidence, Mr. Bonner said: "I'm not certain about any allegations made about the contamination of evidence. But what I can tell you is that during our normal procedures we package everything. A certain guideline is followed and everything is forwarded to our laboratory and we would have agents to testify to that fact."
He added that "all the evidence that were taken have been sent to our laboratory in Washington D.C. where they are in the process of being reviewed for any forensic value which might be helpful to this case."
Mr. Bonner said, however, that he was not able to say how soon the exercise would be completed.
"Some tests might be done ahead of others. We will probably get some information within a couple of weeks, but other tests might take a bit longer," he said.
He added that as soon as the results were available they would be passed on to the Jamaican police.
The FBI would definitely return to Jamaica to conduct other aspects of their investigation in the case, Mr. Bonner said, but he could not give a definite date.
Meantime, Westmoreland's crime chief, Detective Deputy Superintendent Denver Frater, told The Sunday Gleaner on Friday that persons who the police believe can assist them with information about Miss Kirschhoch were still being interviewed.
The 28-year-old Miss Kirschhoch, reportedly went missing from her room at Beaches Hotel on May 28, a few days after she had arrived in the island. Anthony Grant, a former bartender employed to Beaches Negril, had taken her out on a date. Mr. Grant was never detained in connection with her disappearance, but has been questioned by the police.
