It has been a year of highs and lows for the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, with its members participating in 482 searches for missing people from January to November.
Its latest case, 13-year-old Jaydon Mack of Laventille, was a positive one as the boy was eventually found alive by his mother after ten days of searching along with family members and the community.
Of those under age 18, the group helped search for six boys, five of whom were found and 322 girls, of which 24 were not found.
In the 18-60 age bracket, 57 of 73 missing men were found, and 40 of 48 missing women were found. Sixteen out of 23 men and eight out of ten women over 60 years old were also found.
[caption id="attachment_1052304" align="alignnone" width="968"] Members of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team after finding Umar Ali in Sangre Grande in May. -[/caption]
Vallence Rambharat, captain of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, said the year produced some successes, some disappointments and some bitter-sweet moments for the team members.
He said some major cases in which they were involved were that of Martin Thomas in May, Jenysa Murray, five, in July and nine-year-old Omari Providence in August.
The team learned Thomas, 53, of Manzanilla, went to harvest baby parrots in the Nariva swamp about a week before he was found. The team used drones to fly over the area and identified a tree surrounded by a flock of corbeaux. After wading through waist-high water, they found Thomas’s body hanging from his ankle by a vine.
“Parrots have their nests in tall trees. He most likely would have slipped and fallen while climbing, and his ankle got caught in a vine so he died suspended upside down.
“That was challenging because we were searching through chest-height water, and if we had not gone in on that case, I don’t think his body would have ever been found. So it was good to get closure for that family.”
A few months later, the team found Murray, who fell into a river behind her relatives’ home in Erin. She was missing for 15 hours.
“We worked through the night in the river and on the riverbank and at 7.50 am the next day, we were able to find her alive on the river bank. That was a highlight of the year for us.”
There was also some disappointment for the team as they were unable to find Providence from Morvant, who went missing while swimming in Mission Beach, Toco.
“Up to today, nobody has found him. We spent five days camping out in Toco trying to assist the family to locate his body but we were unsuccessful.
[caption id="attachment_1052299" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Members of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team wade through high waters in Nariva Swamp in search of 53-year-old Martin Thomas in May. Photo courtesy Vallence Rambharat. -[/caption]
“That hurt even more as we pay particular attention to children, and we were unable to bring closure to his family. He is now technically lost at sea.”
Rambharat wants to continue expanding the team and its reach. He said members increased from 23 to 33 this year and h
