Two persons are feared dead after the vessel they were travelling in capsized and sank in the Canje River on Friday evening.
Missing are Shellon Williamson, 27, a mother of three, and 29-year-old Richard John, both of Mimi Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam. At the time of the mishap, the vessel was reportedly tied to a punt.
Based on information received, the missing duo and two others were in the boat when they were intercepted by members of the Coast Guard.
The law enforcement officers reportedly tied the boat to a pontoon which eventually started to sink and ultimately pulled the vessel thus causing it to capsize and eventually submerge.
Missing: Shellon Williamson
The captain and his two brothers were able to get out of the boat and swim to safety. Realising that Williamson was still in the boat, John returned to the boat and was not seen again.
“When I reach the man that was driving, he said that was sleeping at the bottom and all he hear in he sleep was the girl saying, ‘water, water, water’. He say when he jump up, he see water till by his knee and he was trying to bail it but the boat cant and knock on the pontoon,” one of Williamson’s sisters, Onicia Ceres, told this publication.
The boat was subsequently salvaged but the missing duo was nowhere to be seen.
At the scene, Donna Ceres, the missing woman’s mother, related that her daughter left home a few days ago to be with John. She explained that the mother of 2, 7 and 9 year olds left on April 22, and was scheduled to return on April 30.
However, she received a telephone call in the wee hours of Saturday stating that her daughter had drowned.
Missing: Richard John
The woman said her daughter left her a distress message suggesting that she was in some sort of trouble. The message stated, “Hi Donna, I ain’t coming home; Saturday and Sunday, I already tell the lady; I coming home Monday. If you want to put me out, put me out. I ain’t able with this here right now.”
Meanwhile, Bernard Joseph, the father of Williamson’s three children, stated that the young lady was being held against her will.
He said one morning Williamson called him relating that she was locked in a house. Upon enquiring about the location of the house, the only information he received was that the house had two rooms.
The Canje River where the mishap occurred
“When I called her phone like the people take away her phone and four days passed and she did not come home,” Joseph who also lives in the same street said.
There were reports that Williamson returned home a few days ago, collected some of her clothing and left without anyone knowing.
According to her sister, when Williamson came, she told her that she needed to take care of her children.
Authorities have not issued any release on the reason for the Coast Guards’ actions in the Canje River which led to them tying the boat to a sinking vessel.
