The body of Harris Anthony Persaud, 19, of Lot 21 Granny Field, Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, was on Friday retrieved from the Demerara River in the vicinity of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara at about
Harris Anthony Persaud
17:30h.
The young man was last seen on Wednesday by his relatives when he left home to attend classes at the University of Guyana. Moments before receiving the harrowing news that his son’s body was found, Nandkumar Persaud revealed that his son’s failure to return home that evening had caused fear to grow as it was unusual for the teenager to stay out for such long periods.
“At 8 pm on Wednesday night, I called his cellphone and it was off. I called his office line phone and that rang out as well, and when that happened I knew he wasn’t at the office. So I was of the view that he was somewhere in town and taking a late class but at 9pm I rung his phone and it was still off. I then leave home and I went to his worksite. I meet there something to 10 and as I went there the office was closed,” he stated. The devastated father went on to explain that the security personnel informed him that his son did not go to work on Wednesday.
He indicated that he made contact with his son’s close friends to ascertain whether or not he was with them. “I know Harris has two friends, they normally move together. These guys also sleep over by me sometimes, on more than one occasion. I know them by their call names, one lives in Cummings Lodge, and the other one from Skeldon, Corentyne but he rents an apartment at Fourth Street, Cummings Lodge as well. I call on Wednesday night some time after 10pm, the boy answer his phone. I asked him, ‘Do you know the whereabouts of Harris?’ He tell me yes. He said Harris went to class, the two of them went together and then they went to another friend home and that Harris left some time after 12pm to go to work for 1pm.”
He said that he subsequently called the friend, whose home his son had earlier visited, and was told the same story.
The grieving father went on to explain that it was at this point that he realised that something was wrong, saying, “my son would never sleep out. If he’s going to be late he would call us, text us or text his sisters.”
Persaud related that the next day, he left home at 04:00h to search for his son. He explained that he picked up his son’s friends and they all went in search of the young man. The man further related that the trio then ventured to Georgetown and made checks at various hospitals, and then made a report to the Police. Persaud also explained that the two young men were questioned separately by the Criminal Investigation Department officers and sent away.
The teen’s father went on to add that relatives met at the Vlissengen Road seawalls, where they discussed the situation and decided to restart their search from the beginning and do their own investigations. “We go back to the place where he was last seen, and that is by his friend’s apartment. As we go there, my nephew went ahead to the boy’s landlord and he had an interaction with the landlord and the landlord told him that he saw the three of them leave together in a car, which is a different story we hearing now. Because they both of them were saying that my son left and come out at the road to catch something to go to work and the two of them were at the house studying. That’s the story them tell me. When we heard that, we draw suspicion that they know something. So we make a call to Sparendaam Police Station and we were told to ask these two guys to go along with us to the station,” he stated.
He explained that the two friends were escorted to the Turkeyen Police Station where they were further grilled separately. “I think one confessed that the three of them did leave and come down to Georgetown. We were told that the three of them were bathing and the boy slide down and drowned and they couldn’t ah save him. And they then took my son clothes and went on the East Coast and throw my son clothes and bag that way. Eventually, the Police find the clothes. As I am standing with you here I just received a message that my son has been found on the river floating,” he disclosed.
On the day of his disappearance, the young man left home with the intention of attending classes at the University of Guyana, where he is a second-year civil engineering student. He leaves to mourn his parents and two siblings. He was described as a very friendly and jovial individual. Police have since detained the two friends as investigations continue.
