Two suspects accused of abducting 73-year-old Tara Poliah jumped into the sea in a desperate bid to evade capture, only to be rescued later that morning by a passing fisherman.

The dramatic events unfolded late Wednesday night after Poliah was kidnapped from her San Juan home on Don Miguel Road around 7:12 p.m. She was forced into a white Nissan AD Wagon by a group of four men and driven in a northerly direction, believed to be headed out to sea.

Acting on intelligence from the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard’s 360-degree radar system, officers intercepted a vessel approximately one nautical mile north-northwest of Corozal just before midnight. On board were Poliah and eight suspects, six Venezuelans and two Trinidad and Tobago nationals.