Exclusive: 79 missing-person reports in nine months, mainly involving young girls

The disappearance of 52-year-old Rodney Leysner has made a deep impression on Surinamese society in recent weeks. The Dutch entrepreneur and film producer disappeared on Saturday, August 15, after which an extensive search operation and a criminal investigation were launched.

His vehicle was found several days later in a swampy area in Saramacca. Several people were subsequently arrested and the investigation took on an increasingly serious character.

In an effort to gain more clarity about Leysner’s fate, a specialised rescue dog team was brought to Suriname from the Netherlands. The team consisted of eight dog handlers with eight tracking dogs and seven supporting specialists.

The search did not yield a body. Excavation work at locations where a scent had previously been detected also brought no breakthrough.

Two men missing after crossing to Guyana

While the Leysner case still raises many questions, another high-profile missing persons case emerged at the end of August. This time, it concerns two young Surinamese men.

Twenty-seven-year-old Siegiëllo Lorenzo van Dalen and 28-year-old Derryl Danillo Bont, also known as Boyen or Bonty, have been missing since Saturday, August 29.

According to the preliminary police investigation, the men left home a day earlier in a white Toyota Vitz, bound for Nickerie. On August 29, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., they went to the Clarasluis. There, they left their vehicle behind and departed for Guyana by boat.

After arriving in Guyana, Van Dalen and Bont reportedly got into a taxi at the landing jetty. It was presumably a black station wagon. There has been no trace of the two men since then. There has been no further contact with them, and it remains unclear what happened after their arrival in Guyana.

Surinamese police have questioned several people in Paramaribo and Nickerie and informed the Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecution Service). It is also being examined how a cross-border investigation can be set up in cooperation with the Guyanese authorities.

Police stressed that, despite earlier rumours, there is currently no information about a third missing person who may have been involved in this case.

One question remains unanswered

For the families, one question above all remains unanswered: where did Siegiëllo van Dalen and Derryl Bont go after leaving Nickerie for Guyana?

The fact that their vehicle was left behind in Suriname and that there has been no contact with them since the presumed taxi ride in Guyana makes the case remarkable. However, this in itself is not yet evidence that a crime has been committed.

Against this backdrop, a broader question arises: how often are people reported missing in Suriname and who are these people?

Figures received by Key News from the Dienst Criminele Informatie (Criminal Information Service) of the Korps Politie Suriname (Suriname Police Force) provide a more concrete picture of the scale of the phenomenon. At the same time, the data show a striking pattern.

Already 79 disappearances registered in 2026

Between January and September 2026, police registered a total of 79 disappearances. Of these persons, 56 are listed as found. In 23 cases, the status is registered as unknown in the police overview.

This means that about 71 percent of the registered persons are listed as found. For approximately 29 percent, the status in the supplied overview is unknown.

The document does not indicate whether the designation “unknown” means that these 23 persons are still being sought or that their administrative status has not been updated. Key News therefore cannot conclude that all 23 persons are still missing.

Of the 79 registered disappearances, 41 cases involved women and girls and 38 involved men and boys.

The main figures for January through September 2026:

• 79 disappearances registered;
• 56 persons listed as found;
• 23 cases with the status “unknown”;
• 41 women and girls;
• 38 men and boys;
• 36 disappearances in the 11 to 20 age group;
• 31 of these 36 young people are girls.

Girls make up the largest individual group

The largest group is in the age category of 11 to 20 years. Within this category, 36 disappearances were registered: five boys and 31 girls.

Girls thus account for around 86 percent of all registered disappearances within this age group. They also represent more than 39 percent of all 79 disappearances included in the police overview for 2026.

The picture is different in the age category of 21 to 30 years. Eight missing men and two missing women were registered there.

Among persons aged 31 to 40, there were six men and two women. In the category of 61 years and older, eight men and one woman were registered as missing.

Young girls also predominantly missing in 2025

The pattern is not entirely new. Girls aged between 11 and 20 also made up the largest individual group in the police figures for 2025.

A total of 74 disappearances were registered throughout 2025. These involved 22 men and boys and 52 women and girls.

Within the age category of 11 to 20 years, seven boys and 39 girls were registered as missing. Girls thus made up almost 85 percent of disappearances within that age group.

In the first nine months of 2026, police therefore registered five more disappearances than in all of 2025.

This does not automatically allow the conclusion that the number of disappearances is structurally increasing. The periods being compared are not the same and the data relate solely to cases registered with police. It is also unclear how quickly the administrative status of a case is updated after a person is found.

The figures do show that disappearances among young people, and particularly among young girls, occur considerably more often than is apparent solely from the nationally known cases.

March had the most registrations

The number of registered disappearances varies considerably by month. Seventeen disappearances were recorded in March 2026, giving that month the highest number. January and April followed with 13 registrations each.

Ten disappearances were registered in May and 11 in July. The overview lists one case each for August and September.

The police overview was compiled on September 14, 2026. It is unclear whether the very low figures for August and September have been fully updated. The monthly figures should therefore be interpreted with caution.

In 2025, most disappearances were registered in June, with 12 cases. May and October followed with eight registrations each.

Nearly 60 percent registered in the Midden region

The regional distribution shows that 47 of the 79 disappearances in 2026 were registered in the Midden region. This amounts to nearly 60 percent of the total.

Paramaribo recorded 16 registrations, the West region 14 and the Oost region two. Within the overview, Santodorp and Nieuw-Nickerie had the most registrations, with ten cases each.

The figures do not show whether the regional classification refers to the place where someone disappeared, the missing person’s place of residence or the police station where the report was filed. The figures therefore cannot be used without additional information to determine where in Suriname most people disappear.

Figures provide no explanation

The police figures do not clarify under what circumstances the registered persons disappeared. They do not state how many people left voluntarily, how many minors ran away from home, or in how many cases there were indications of an accident or crime.

Nor is it indicated how many persons were found within 24 or 48 hours and how many cases led to an extensive criminal investigation.

The figures also do not mean that the various disappearances are connected. Not every disappearance points to a crime.

However, the large proportion of girls aged between 11 and 20 in particular requires further investigation. It is unclear why they are so strongly represented and which social, family or other circumstances may play a role.

More clarity needed on registration

Based on the figures, Key News has several follow-up questions. For example, it is unclear what police precisely mean by the status “unknown” and whether the 23 persons in this category are still being sought.

More information is also needed on the registration of minors, the speed at which found persons are administratively recorded as found, and the possible causes of the large number of disappearances among young girls.

What the cases of Leysner, Van Dalen and Bont have in common is that they currently leave unanswered questions.

An extensive criminal investigation is under way in the Leysner case and foreign specialist assistance was deployed. In the case of Van Dalen and Bont, authorities are investigating what happened after their arrival in Guyana.

Behind these high-profile cases is a larger group of disappearances that receives little nationwide attention. The police figures do not answer why people disappear, but they do show that there is sufficient reason to investigate the phenomenon further.

For this article, Key News analysed overviews from the Dienst Criminele Informatie of the Korps Politie Suriname on registered disappearances in 2025 and the period from January through September 2026. The documents are dated September 14, 2026. The figures relate solely to cases registered with police. Download the statistics here: vermissingen_suriname_2025_2026_key_news