In June of 1994, Bhagwaniala "Moses" Lall, a 31-year-old exotic bird breeder, and his aunt, Lilawattie Buerattan, vanished from their Loxahatchee, Florida, ranch. The pair, who were known to be private about their business, had shifted from importing wild birds to breeding them after U.S. laws changed in 1993. Lall managed the business side of the operation, while Buerattan was the primary caregiver for the birds.
Their family had a well-established business of importing wild birds from Guyana.
The disappearance was discovered on June 5, 1994, when a feed delivery person arrived for a routine stop and found the gate to the ranch unattended, which was highly unusual. Knowing that Lall and Buerattan did not keep a reserve of feed for the hundreds of birds, the delivery person left the feed at the gate. When the worker returned the next day to find the feed untouched, authorities were alerted. However, due to a bureaucratic error, investigators did not search the ranch until June 16, a full ten days after the initial report. Upon entering the property, they discovered a grim scene: hundreds of exotic birds, with an estimated value of nearly $700,000, were dead or dying from starvation. There was no trace of Lall or Buerattan.
Also missing from the ranch were two ranch hands, Daljeet "Hari" Gobin and Roland Felix Eyoum. Eyoum was later found in New York City and told investigators a startling story. He claimed that Gobin had witnessed two unidentified men forcing Lall and Buerattan into a white van at gunpoint, along with some of the birds. Gobin himself was apprehended in Georgia on June 7, just two days after the initial discovery at the ranch, while driving Lall's van and using his driver's license. He identified himself as Lall and was subsequently released, only to disappear before his true identity was discovered.
Authorities consider Gobin a person of interest in the case and would like to question him about the events. Foul play is strongly suspected in the disappearance of Lall and Buerattan, and their family insists they would never have willingly abandoned their valuable birds. Adding to the mystery, a videotape explaining how to change one's identity was recovered from Lall's van. In the aftermath, the surviving birds were sold at a public auction. The case of Bhagwaniala Lall and Lilawattie Buerattan remains unsolved, leaving a trail of unanswered questions.Last Seen: Jun 5, 1994
