In spite of all our differences, the one thing that binds all living creatures is that we each have an expiration date. This finality to our existence is what makes life special, something to be cherished and protected. But occasionally things can go terribly wrong…
Pirates armed with machetes hacked a U.S. tourist to death and seriously wounded his wife in an attack aboard the couple’s sailboat in Guatemala. Nancy Dryden, 67, said her husband, Daniel Perry Dryden, 66, was killed by four men who boarded their boat while it was anchored in Lake Izabal.
"They poked us and stabbed us with the machetes, and they were asking for money, specifically dollars," said Dryden, who in a Guatemalan hospital in stable condition. The couple complied with the demands, but the robbers were apparently unhappy with their booty. "We had a few quetzales (Guatemala’s currency), but we had no dollars with us on the boat," Dryden said.
Dryden said the four men swam from shore to reach their boat. After murdering her husband, the men demanded Nancy hand over the boat keys. When she refused, the men surprisingly left and swam back to shore. Nancy struggled over to the boat’s radio and sent out a distress call. "I said we need help … my husband was not moving."
