Post by kaima on Jun 11, 2008 11:02:13 GMT -7
Polish pilgrim claims he was beaten and robbed
SPRUCE ISLAND: He was stranded during trip to visit holy site.
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
(06/11/08 00:31:26)
A Polish man making a pilgrimage to the Saint Herman Holy Site told Alaska State Troopers he was attacked, robbed and stranded on Spruce Island near Kodiak over the weekend.
Zbigniew Zdzieszynski, 48, told troopers three Eastern European men took his money and left him on the northeast side of the island for two days before fishermen spotted him and picked him up.
"All his clothes were up in the trees drying and he was obviously distraught," said Dustin Fraser, who, along with skipper Dean Wilson, found Zdzieszynski. "There's some really strange things going on over here."
A charter plane dropped Zdzieszynski off on the island Thursday, and he said he was robbed Friday after he had visited the chapel, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. For two days Zdzieszynski, of Lubin, Poland, was unable to find help or get off the island because he flew in without making arrangements to be picked up, Peters said. He was not injured.
Zdzieszynski apparently thought there was a large seminary at the holy site, Peters said.
Father Innocent Dresdow, dean of Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak, said up to 500 people each summer make the pilgrimage to the site of Herman of Alaska's death, where a chapel was constructed in the Russian monk's honor. But the area is remote. There are some monks and nuns who live several miles away and oversee the grounds, but little else, he said.
"If he came across people with ill-intentions, there's not much out there to defend yourself with," Dresdow said. "There's usually nobody there now."
But Fraser and Wilson happened to be out checking their gill nets Sunday evening when they spotted Zdzieszynski frantically waving to them from a beach in Pleasant Cove, Fraser said. They picked the man up and brought him back to the Blue Dory Lodge, which Fraser's mother, Rebecca Dawn, owns.
Zdzieszynski stayed there until troopers arrived the next day and transported him to Kodiak, where a translator helped interpret what happened, Peters said.
Polish legal affairs and consular protection consul Wojciech Bergier, reached in Los Angeles, said he translated the conversation by phone. Zdzieszynski remained in Kodiak and did not report needing further assistance, he said.
"If there is a need from him or from police and prosecutors, I'm open to any kind of help," Bergier said.
Troopers say the case is still under investigation and they have not yet identified any suspects.
www.adn.com
SPRUCE ISLAND: He was stranded during trip to visit holy site.
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
(06/11/08 00:31:26)
A Polish man making a pilgrimage to the Saint Herman Holy Site told Alaska State Troopers he was attacked, robbed and stranded on Spruce Island near Kodiak over the weekend.
Zbigniew Zdzieszynski, 48, told troopers three Eastern European men took his money and left him on the northeast side of the island for two days before fishermen spotted him and picked him up.
"All his clothes were up in the trees drying and he was obviously distraught," said Dustin Fraser, who, along with skipper Dean Wilson, found Zdzieszynski. "There's some really strange things going on over here."
A charter plane dropped Zdzieszynski off on the island Thursday, and he said he was robbed Friday after he had visited the chapel, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. For two days Zdzieszynski, of Lubin, Poland, was unable to find help or get off the island because he flew in without making arrangements to be picked up, Peters said. He was not injured.
Zdzieszynski apparently thought there was a large seminary at the holy site, Peters said.
Father Innocent Dresdow, dean of Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak, said up to 500 people each summer make the pilgrimage to the site of Herman of Alaska's death, where a chapel was constructed in the Russian monk's honor. But the area is remote. There are some monks and nuns who live several miles away and oversee the grounds, but little else, he said.
"If he came across people with ill-intentions, there's not much out there to defend yourself with," Dresdow said. "There's usually nobody there now."
But Fraser and Wilson happened to be out checking their gill nets Sunday evening when they spotted Zdzieszynski frantically waving to them from a beach in Pleasant Cove, Fraser said. They picked the man up and brought him back to the Blue Dory Lodge, which Fraser's mother, Rebecca Dawn, owns.
Zdzieszynski stayed there until troopers arrived the next day and transported him to Kodiak, where a translator helped interpret what happened, Peters said.
Polish legal affairs and consular protection consul Wojciech Bergier, reached in Los Angeles, said he translated the conversation by phone. Zdzieszynski remained in Kodiak and did not report needing further assistance, he said.
"If there is a need from him or from police and prosecutors, I'm open to any kind of help," Bergier said.
Troopers say the case is still under investigation and they have not yet identified any suspects.
www.adn.com
