Ryan Crowder, Grad, Was Stabbed in Nicaragua

Ryan Crowder grad, the natural resources student who was killed in Nicaragua last weekend [6], apparently died from stab wounds during a robbery attempt, one of Nicaragua’s leading newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Crowder was stabbed multiple times by a group of five or six robbers, El Nuevo Diario reported. The attack occurred as Crowder was traveling with an unidentified woman on a road near Managua, the Nicaraguan capital. The newspaper did not report whether the woman was injured during the robbery.

Nicaragua’s National Police is continuing its investigation.

Police found a gun permit belonging to Crowder, but no gun, El Nuevo Diario reported, and police are not sure if a gun was stolen.

The newspaper said that the robbery was reported at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, although President David Skorton said in a statement on Monday that Crowder died “late Saturday night.”

Crowder began working in Nicaragua early this summer to conduct research for his graduate thesis. He wanted to improve fisheries on the country’s coast by increasing the number of fish they caught and ensuring the sustainability of their operations. He also worked with women in the fisheries’ community to create a cooperative that could directly sell the fish to local markets.

“[Crowder] cared deeply about international development, and particularly for the lobstermen of the Moskito coast,” Skorton said in the statement.

Crowder had previously lived in Managua and still knew people there. He was in Managua last weekend to visit friends and family, according to Prof. James Lassoie, natural resources, who helped oversee Crowder’s graduate studies.