A lesson for other pupils
Two lovestruck teens who fled their religious boarding school in England were found in the Caribbean after a week at a five-star resort.
UK/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
TWO British teenagers who ran away from a Jesuit boarding school in Lancashire for a mid-term Caribbean break have been found by police in the Dominican Republic after a week at a five-star resort.
Edward Bunyan, 16, and Indira Gainiyeva, who turned 17 last Friday, were located by plainclothes officers on Monday evening at a beachfront restaurant in Punta Cana, more than 250 miles from where they were thought to be staying.
They will be allowed to spend some time with their parents, including Edward’s mother, Susannah, who has flown out to the island, before returning to Stonyhurst College in Clitheroe to find out if they will be expelled.
The two teenagers, who are thought to have been seeing each other for several months without their parents’ knowledge, left the 421-year-old school, where fees are almost £30,000 a year, in the early hours of January 13. They evaded security guards and took a 50-mile taxi ride to Manchester airport before boarding a flight to the Caribbean island, apparently having told friends that they were sick of the cold, wet weather in England.
Local police said the couple had been staying at the 850-room Occidental Grand hotel on the country’s east coast, which boasts eight bars, 10 themed restaurants, a casino and three ‘‘lagoonstyle’’ pools.
The plush resort also offers tennis, windsurfing and scuba diving and live nightly entertainment. It describes itself as ‘‘ideal for families, couples and newlyweds seeking to combine rest and relaxation with fun and entertainment’’.
The pair managed to evade the authorities for several days before police traced a credit card they had used at the Occidental. When officers arrived, Edward and Indira had already moved on to another hotel, according to reports, before detectives finally caught up with them as they enjoyed a meal at a local restaurant.
Edward, who has previously attended schools in Europe and Canada, had been a pupil at Stonyhurst for three years and his Facebook page includes pictures of him smoking and wearing a T-shirt reading ‘‘ENJOY LIFE 24/7’’. Friends have described him as a ‘‘rebel’’.
Indira, originally from Kazakhstan, enrolled last September after studying at a language college in Brighton.
Yesterday, Andrew Johnson, the school’s headmaster, said it was a huge relief that they had been found, adding: ‘‘Our prayers have been answered.’’
He said he had told the couple’s fellow pupils – who had been using social networks to encourage them on their escapade – during a specially convened lunchtime assembly.
‘‘They might have been a bit excited at first about what happened but I think they started to think this really is quite a worrying situation, and they have been concerned. They were all clearly relieved and pleased that they’ve been found.
‘‘It’s quite a lesson for the other pupils to see what happens,’’ he added.