Rudolph Brown
Cynthia Wilson, mother of seven-year-old Shantel Baker, waits patiently on the banks of the Rio Nuevo river in St. Mary yesterday, hoping for signs of her daughter who was swept away by strong river currents on Friday evening.
Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter
Dozens of relatives and friends yesterday launched a desperate search for the bodies of a 31-year-old woman and her seven-year-old niece after a rampaging river had swept them away in the Rio Nuevo area of St. Mary.
By late yesterday more than 50 acquaintances of Maureen Forbes and her niece Shantel Baker, both of Huddersfield in the parish, were still waiting patiently at the Rio Nuevo fishing beach to see if their their worst fears had been realised.
The two were still missing after a trip to another section of Rio Nuevo River on Friday resulted in them being swept away by strong currents at about 5:30 p.m. The river, according to a man who claimed to be an eyewitness, rose to approximately 20 feet high.
Residents of the area reported that at least 12 family members had gone to the river to wash clothes. The river had become their only source of domestic water supply after a standpipe, which served several communities in the parish, had been metered and disconnected. A tank provided by the Parish Council had been empty for the past three weeks, family members said, forcing them to seek water from the river.
Cautioned
Corporal Ronald Dillion, of the Retreat police station, told The Sunday Gleaner that a taxi operator who took many of the family members to the site, reported that he had cautioned them about going to the river which was rising. The taximan, the officer said, reported that one of the adults told him to "leave them alone an gwaan 'bout yuh business." It was shortly after that residents heard cries for help coming from near the river. When they went to the scene they found at least five persons stranded in a guango tree on the river bank.
"Ropes were thrown to them and they were pulled ashore," Cpl. Dillion said.
Residents considered those extremely lucky.
"Is a good thing they could climb," said Yvonne Spike, a sister of the missing woman. "Some of dem climb up the guango tree in the middle of the river and that is where dem find them."
But there was no sign of Shantel and her aunt. The relatives of the missing duo were still angry yesterday afternoon, claiming that neither the Marine police nor the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard had been to the scene to conduct a search.
The nearby Retreat police yesterday denied those claims. Corporal Dillion said that police reports indicated that six persons had been rescued and taken to hospital. He also said that the Coast Guard and Marine police conducted a search for the missing, but it had to be called off as the water was too choppy.
Meanwhile, the relatives collected $1,000 among themselves and mounted a search, with the help of a local fisherman and two other persons from the area, using a friend's boat.
Late yesterday afternoon Cynthia Wilson, Shantel's mother and Maureen's sister, all but conceded that her loved ones had died. Surrounded by family members and friends, she cried openly as she waited for news or signs of her daughter and sister.
"I believe (Shantel) is dead," Miss Wilson said while wiping away tears. "But I just want to find the body so I can bury her."
Miss Wilson's five-year-old son Ramon Johnson, who was also at the scene, was lucky to survive the river's rushing waters. Her niece Kerry-Ann Forrester, 22, was another survivor. Still in shock she held her head in her lap for long periods yesterday, still struggling to believe the events of the previous evening. She said Ryan and Cassandra James, her cousins, were also at the scene at the time of the incident. The missing woman is Ryan's mother.
The family members said they would continue their search, until the bodies are found.
Meanwhile, the flash flood watch for the area was lifted by the Meterological Service yesterday evening. However a flash flood warning remained in effect over the area.
