The Met police now admit the man, who's committed 98 known offences against the elderly in the south London area, could be anywhere in the world. To their knowledge, he hasn't offended for the past 18 months. And there have been similar gaps in attacks over the years. So where could he be? The Caribbean is their educated guess, perhaps visiting relatives. This week two senior Scotland Yard detectives and a forensic scientist visited the West Indies to appeal for help. "The answer lies with the public", said Detective Superintendent Simon Morgan. "Without them we're not going to catch him." Advances in DNA technology have led them to the Windward Islands, which stretch from Dominica in the north down to Trinidad just off the Venezuela coast. They believe either he or his family originate from here. I followed the team to cover the latest chapter in what is Britain's largest hunt for a serial sex attacker. Controversial science During their stay, they held several news conferences to inform local media about听 possible links to the region. Ray Fysh was the specialist Forensic adviser, who was on hand to answer any tricky technical questions. He has worked on such high-profile cases as "Adam" - you may remember the African boy, who's torso was discovered in the River Thames. He helped police trace his origins to Nigeria and a narrow 100 mile corridor from the capital Lagos to Benin city. Yet in this investigation, called Operation Minstead, he's linked an offender rather than a victim to a specific geographical area. The suspect, who's described as a light-skinned black man, is said to have a genetic make-up of 82% sub-Saharan African, 6% European, and 12% native American. It's potentially controversial science though and could prove embarrassing if the police do finally catch up with him and he turns out to be, for instance, Jamaican. Well spoken "We have to try everything", said Mr Fysh. "It's a risk but we have tested the DNA twice and it all points to the southern Islands of the Caribbean." Detectives say that their work can be like putting a jigsaw together. And officers from the Met's serious crime directorate now have many pieces of the puzzle. But they are still struggling and need help. They have a sketchy description of the suspect because he always wears a balaclava. They know he's black, aged about 37, 5.7ft to 6.2ft tall, and well spoken. He perhaps rides a motorbike because he always wears and all-in-one outfit, is believed to be religiously aware, and may have links to Brighton. They also think he has a knowledge about caring for the elderly. Moreover, according to one of his victims, his mother died in 2000. So they're researching whether her body has been repatriated. Blue scarf But a new clue has just emerged about a blue scarf with a fake Pierre Cardin logo. It was left behind at a victim's house with a DNA sample. "Someone might have seen him wearing it", Det Supt Morgan enthused. "Or indeed given it to him as a present, or even sold it to him." "All it could take is a single phone call", he added. How he operates provides even more clues. He strikes at night, always when the elderly person is alone. He sometimes uses tools from a victim's shed to get into the property. He cuts the phone line, unscrews lightbulbs, shines a torch into his victim's face to disorientate them as they lie in bed, sometimes takes money and sometimes has sex with them. So far he's raped 4 times, and there's 24 indecent assaults. Gerontophile Detectives say he spends time with them, talking and trying to build up a relationship. Rather like a paedophile grooming a child, this man is described as a 'gerontophile' - someone who seeks sexual gratification from the elderly. And although he has 88 female victims, he has also preyed on men. "I still find it hard to comprehend", Det Supt Morgan told me. "This man is simply terrorising the elderly." Scotland Yard's Caribbean appeal has rightly attracted local media attention. Two out of the three newspapers in Trinidad had it on their front pages and it led the main TV news channel.
 | | Port of Spain - Trinidad |
A financial reward of 拢40k for anyone helping to secure his capture and conviction is what the Assistant Commissioner Maurice Piggott of the Trinidad & Tobago police called "a tidy sum". "That is about 500,000 T&T dollars", he said. "A life changing amount of money." People on the street of Port of Spain, both young and old, told me that it was an incentive. And calls have started coming into the crime hotline 555, although some have been hoaxes. | 
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