Tour guide told police about names, threats to life way before his murder- relative

January 30, 2026

By Michael Jordan

Like outlaws from a western movie film, ruthless bands of cattle rustlers are sneaking into ranches in Rupununi, Region 9 and making off with cattle, the practice which has been going on for years with little to no systemic approach to ending it, now seems to be taking on a different dimension where those who stand in the way of the rustlers will have to pay with their life.

38-Year-old Rancher Leon Baird, called ‘Rasta’, was killed hours after he was last seen on Friday, January 23, 2026. His partially charred remains were found two days after: Sunday, January 25, 2026. At the time of his death, Baird doubled as a tour guide and worked at the Wichabai Ranch in the Rupununi. Following his last sighting on January 23, his car was found torched with the remains of a skeleton inside.

BIG Smith News Watch has confirmed that Baird had made previous police reports about threats to his life and also provided names to the police on those who made the threats and the reason. They were all related to his push-back against the rustling of cattle from the ranch he worked on.

“We know the people who steal cattle and who threatened him, and who were in the area (when he was killed),” a resident said.

CLUES

It is believed that Leon was killed while tracking down two of his employer’s missing cows. It is the theory that in the process of doing so, he stumbled on the rustlers slaughtering the animals, and as such, he met his demise.

The carcasses of two fresh animals bearing the brand of the Wichabai Ranch were found a short distance away. A knife was also found in the area close to what police detectives were treating as evidence.

Ranch employees, who had reported him missing on Friday, January 24, found his burnt Land Rover, with charred remains inside, near Sand Creek Road.

BIG Smith News Watch learnt from persons close to Baird that he might have been killed inside the car when it was set on fire. In Fact, the Guyana Police Force Corporate Communications Unit, in a statement on January 30, 2026, stated that a postmortem conducted on the remains of the deceased suggests that he was alive when the car was set on fire.

The Police report stated that DNA samples were taken from the remains as part of an ongoing investigation.

Collaboration between the police and Rupununi residents to locate the killers by scouring the vast savanna since the discovery of the remains have been futile.

“The people of this Region need to come together and say who the rustlers are, and they should be locked up.

“Anyone who comes across these people has to fear for their lives, and more people will die if they are not captured soon,” they claimed. It was also stated that several police reports on animal rustling have not been treated with the importance that ought to have been applied by law enforcement.

SOLD AT LETHEM

After making off with cattle, rustlers reportedly butcher the animals and take the carcasses to Lethem. This has been occurring for years with few arrests, sources say. Some frustrated owners said that cattle numbers have been drastically reduced.

It was brought to this publication’s attention that rustling has plagued both North and South Rupununi for years. “If this continues, we will have no cattle left,” one rancher said.

Baird had reportedly spoken to several reporters about the challenges with cattle rustling some years ago, while acting as a tour guide.