Ariz. Mother Missing in Belize After Disappearing from Tour Group: 'Beyond Devastated'
An American mother of two has gone missing while vacationing in Belize — and both her family and authorities are searching for answers.
On Friday, Alison MacKenzie, of Arizona, travelled with a 58-year-old male companion and a tour group to the island of Rendezvous Caye, off the coast of Belize, for an overnight stay.
The next morning, she was gone.
“We are getting nowhere finding out where she is,” MacKenzie’s mother, Cherie MacKenzie, wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “It has been 48 hours now, and not only missing, but feared no longer alive.”
MacKenzie was among a group of tourists on a catamaran tour to the tiny island, which is “approximately 2 acres with 10 palm trees,” Cherie MacKenzie wrote. The island is located about 21 miles off the coast of Belize.
Authorities in Belize have neither named a person of interest nor detained anyone for questioning in the 43-year-old’s disappearance, ABC News reports. The U.S. Department of State confirmed with the outlet they are working with Belize officials.
“We have received 3 different stories about what happened that morning. None of them consistent with the others,” Cherie MacKenzie wrote on Facebook, adding that the family is in contact with Belize and American officials as well as the tour group.
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According to Raggamuffin Catamaran’s website, the trip is described as a “‘simple’ camping trip with Raggamuffin supplying all camping equipment with mats and sheets being provided. Passengers sleep in the units that they travel in, i.e. on average 2 persons to each tent or if they are traveling on their own, their own tent, to allow for privacy.”
As authorities continue to investigate, MacKenzie’s family is asking other members of the Raggamuffin Catamaran tour group to help. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Belize, P3Tips.com or call 922.
“My whole family is beyond devastated, it just doesn’t seem real. Her two daughters are past being consoled,” Cherie MacKenzie wrote. “They have lost their mother and best friend. I want her home with us, no matter how she may be found. I want my daughter back.”
In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Raggamuffin Tours says, “[We are] cooperating fully with law enforcement officers in their investigation into this incident. … We are aware that extensive interviews have been conducted by the Police at Rendezvous Caye and in Caye Caulker.”
In its statement, the company describes itself as “deeply distressed and concerned” about the whereabouts of the missing woman and “urges the public to contact the police as soon as possible, if they have any relevant information to provide.”
