By Belize Live News Staff: The phone was an arm’s length away on the passenger seat. So, unfortunately, was the open passenger side, and in Guinea Grass on Wednesday night, that was all the opportunity required.
The Belize Police Department reports that a 67-year-old farmer of the village was parked at a store parking lot at about 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, seated behind the wheel of his pickup with his cell phone beside him. A man walked up on the passenger side, reached in with his right hand, took the phone, and ran.
The farmer shouted after him by name, because this was no stranger. The complainant told police he has known the man since childhood, watching him grow up in the same village, and the street light overhead left him in no doubt about who took his phone, even if the clothing escaped his memory.
Gone with the runner: a beige NEO smartphone worth $215 in its transparent blue case worth $20, a $235 loss the farmer wants answered in court.
Police have a person listed as wanted, and until a charge lands, no name appears here.
The scene repeats a lesson the district keeps teaching the hard way. A phone on the seat, a window within reach, and a few unwatched seconds are all the modern snatch requires, and in a village where everyone knows everyone, even being recognized mid-theft was not deterrent enough.
Anyone with information can reach the Guinea Grass Sub Station or Orange Walk police. The farmer knows who he saw. Now police need to know where he is.
