U.S. man slain in Central America

Robbers with machetes hacked a U.S. tourist to death and seriously wounded his wife aboard the couple’s sailboat in northeastern Guatemala, the woman said Sunday.

In a telephone interview from her hospital bed, Nancy Dryden, 67, said her husband, Daniel Perry Dryden, 66, was killed by four men who boarded their boat late Saturday 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 was listed in stable condition at a hospital in the lakeside town of Morales.

“We had a few quetzales [Guatemala’s currency], but we had no dollars with us on the boat,” she said.

The Drydens, retirees from the Anchorage area, had bought the boat in February. They were equipping it in preparation for a voyage into the Caribbean and eventually to the eastern United States.

Dryden said the four assailants may have swum out to the boat. After they left, she struggled over to the boat’s radio and sent out a distress call.

“I said we need help. . . . I said my husband was not moving,” Dryden said.

She said she expected her children to arrive in Guatemala today and plans to be transferred to the United States for medical care.

Assistant Police Commissioner Luis Say said the attack was being investigated.

Near Guatemala’s Caribbean coast, Lake Izabal is popular among tourists for its jungle scenery and wildlife.