3 years later Mother’s grief reopens as she finally lays daughter’s remains to rest after DNA test

More than three years after her daughter was reported missing, Waveney August said the confirmation of her child’s death has reopened wounds, as she buried the remains of her daughter on Wednesday.
August, the mother of Waletta Ashana Rigby, spoke with this publication as her daughter’s remains were interned after being uplifted.
Rigby had been reported missing in June 2021 following a boating mishap near the Guyana-Brazil border.
According to August, she was first alerted to the discovery of remains in 2023, after receiving information that prompted police to conduct a search near the border area.
“When they bring the body, they say let me identify the body. And I identify the body, and it’s my daughter,” August recalled. “I could see the bare foot… and they bring up a set of underwear. So I said, ‘This is my daughter’.”
She said the remains were recovered in the Lethem area, close to the border and in proximity to a river, but she was told at the time that no one could be charged.
“They said they can’t charge anybody. And the story stays like that,” she said.
August explained that it was not until January 2025 that she was informed that DNA testing had confirmed the remains were indeed her daughter’s. She said she was abroad at the time and had to submit identification and birth records as part of the process.

“They call and say they have the DNA, and it is she,” August said, adding that the confirmation came years after her daughter vanished.
Rigby, a mother of six, disappeared after travelling to Brazil to purchase goods and returning to Guyana by boat. One other woman reportedly survived the incident, while Rigby was never seen again.
August said the pain of losing her daughter has been compounded by the responsibility of caring for several of her grandchildren, including a minor.
“My child has to go in that small box, and it’s really hard,” she said. “I’m supporting four of them… I got a minor. I’m 65 years old, and it’s hard for me to take care of a child now.”
She described the emotional toll on the children, particularly the youngest, who is now growing up without a mother.