The family of Tyrone Thomas whose decomposed body was discovered on September 6 at Thomas Island, Puruni River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) wrapped in a hammock are now calling for justice.
Dead: Tyrone Thomas
Reports are Thomas worked as a miner on a land dredge which is located on Thomas Island. On August 16, 2020, the owner of the dredge left the now dead man and another worker, a Brazilian national, in the camp.
The dredge owner told Police about a week ago he received a phone call from Thomas who informed him that the Brazilian national had left the camp.
However, on September 5, around 19:00hr, when he [the dredge owner], along with two new workers whom he brought from Georgetown, went to the camp, they did not see Thomas.
About 07:00h, the owner claimed that he smelt a stench coming from Puruni River close to his camp and he went to investigate. He then observed the body of the miner wrapped in a multicoloured hammock stuck besides a tree in the river.
Cops said when they visited the scene, they observed that the hands and legs of the victim were bound and there was a gaping wound above the right eye.
In an interview with Guyana Times on Thursday, the victim’s sister, Ereena Thomas, explained how she learnt of her brother’s death.
“I heard that they found him at the river side with two engines strapped to his body. I can’t even say how long he has been working there and who he was working with, because our mom only passed away in April, and he only started communicating back with us about a year ago. He never told us of a company name or anything, we were just going with what he said,” she explained.
The grieving sister said she was still waiting on the Police to provide them with more information, since they were still trying to figure out what might have led to their brother’s death.
“All they told us is that the investigations are ongoing. We just want to make sure whoever it is that higher authorities look into every possible lead, because it not nice, it is not, something that actually terrible,” she said.
The woman stated that it was very hard for family members, because they were forced to bury him without getting a glimpse of his remains.
“Family couldn’t even see him, because he was that decomposed; somebody really didn’t want us to actually find him. We want that person to be brought to justice, if it’s more than one or not,” she said.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Region Seven Commander Dion Moore said investigations were ongoing, and ranks have intensified investigations to find the perpetrator (s).
The miner was described as a “very friendly” person who always got along with everyone. He leaves to mourn his siblings, family, and friends.
