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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 11, 2008 - 3 Hostage-taker apologized to his victims Continued from page 1 hostage after a man forced his way into their home. Jon feared he and his family were going to die. "You had visions this is the last day of your life," he said. "You don't know how volatile the guy is. I was taking it an hour by hour. "Nobody can explain (the feeling) to you." According to Halton police, Jon arrived home around 6:45 p.m. Monday and was accosted by a man brandishing a handgun, already in the house. After tying the couple up, the suspect stole their 2005 Honda Civic and the keys to Knar Jewellery, which Jon has managed for a year after having worked at Toronto's Holt Renfrew. The couple eventually managed to break free and Jon contacted a next door neighbour, who called police at around 8 p.m. Police then raced to Knar Jewellery in the Olde Oakville Market at Cornwall and Trafalgar roads where the abandoned Honda Civic was found in the parking lot. The mall was subsequently shut down and a lengthy police search of the property -- including the jewelry store -- yielded no suspects. Police say they are looking for a white male in his 20s, tall and thin, with short brown hair and wearing prescription glasses. He was also wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. Police remain tight-lipped about the case. "We've got some avenues we're investigating," Det.-Sgt. Jeff Hill said yesterday. Jon said the ordeal actually DAVID RITCHIE / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER SAFE AND SOUND: Knarr Jewellery store manager Jon Walker talks to an EMS worker while holding his baby son following their hostage ordeal. began at around 3:30 p.m., when the intruder knocked on the Walker's door. Dawn answered and the suspect pushed his way inside. In a brief struggle that ensued, Dawn was knocked to the ground, dislocating her jaw. The man put on a mask once he gained entry into the home, Jon said. The masked man held Walker's wife and baby, Jake, hostage for about three hours, waiting for Jon to return home. Jake was unharmed and Jon said the intruder never threatened the boy. The Walkers have no idea who the gloved, masked intruder is, but noted that he had been using a walkie-talkie to communicate with someone else while inside their Burlington home. What made the hostage ordeal all the more bizarre was the intruder's politeness. The Walkers say he apologized, allowed Dawn to be untied long enough to feed Jake, retrieved an ice pack from the fridge to apply to her sore jaw and offered her a glass of water. Jon said during the time Dawn was held captive Jake woke up. The intruder untied her so she could pick up her son and feed him. He even let her watch TV with Jake. The intruder followed Dawn around the house, Jon said. "She couldn't speak properly," Jon said about Dawn, who he said is still very shaken up after the experience. When Jon arrived home, he was ordered to the ground, at which time his hands and feet were tied with duct tape and plastic ties. Jon said the suspect asked about the jewelry store's safe and security cam- era locations. Jon said he didn't lie. "I wasn't prepared to give false information," he said. Later, the suspect ordered the Walkers to the basement. He gagged them both but asked if they were able to breathe through their noses first, Jon said. Dawn told the man she had a breathing condition. Police had originally reported Dawn was not gagged. When the intruder left, he took the store and car keys, plus all the phones in the house. After hearing no noises for a while and thinking the coast was clear, Jon began to break through the duct tape. He freed his wife and they ran outside for help. The Walkers arrived back at their home around lunchtime Wednesday after police released the house following a forensic investigation. Jon said when they arrived home following the ordeal, they were greeted by cards from well wishers placed at the door. "We love this area, we have great neighbours," he said. Neighbours said earlier this week the Walkers are a polite and caring couple and hope they don't move. Right now the family says it is taking things day by day. "I'd love to get back to normal as soon as possible," said Jon. His said his first priority is Jake's and Dawn's health, and making sure his wife recovers. "She experienced more than I did," he said, adding she suggested talking to a counsellor. Anyone with information is asked to call Halton Police's Criminal Investigation Bureau at 905-6341831, ext. 2315, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). summer sale Stay Injured motorcyclist succumbs to injuries A 20-year-old Oakville man has died from injuries received in a dirt bike accident early Saturday morning. Police said the accident occurred in the area of Oaks Trails and Hillmount Drive at around 4 a.m. when the man crashed his blue Yamaha 80cc dirt bike into a cement barrier. The man was transported to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. Police have managed to contact the victim's family, who were out of the country on vacation at the time of the man's accident. Police are not releasing the man's name at this time at the request of his family. 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