The body of Laleta Sivanand, the Kaieteur National Park tourist who went missing two weeks ago, was located and secured yesterday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of the Presi-dency, a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) special team located and secured the body. The body was initially spotted late Saturday afternoon by a National Parks Ranger. It was found in a rocky area at the base of the falls, which was submerged previously because of the high water level.
Sivanand’s body is expected to be brought up to the top of the falls today and will be transported by plane to Georgetown for a post-mortem examination.
The statement added that the park will remain closed for the completion of the recovery operation and is expected to be reopened by tomorrow.
Sivanand went missing during a tour at the Kaieteur National Park that was organised by Air Services Limited. As soon as the woman was discovered to have gone missing, a search operation ensued.
After the local Park Rangers were unable to make any progress, several members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the GDF and the Civil Defence Commission were deployed to assist in the search for the woman.
After several days of searching in the park and the Kaieteur gorge to no avail, the search was called off until the body was spotted and secured.
The ministry statement expressed sympathy to the family of the Sivanand and expressed thanks to all officials and agencies that supported the work of the GPF and GDF during the search and recovery operation.
Sivanand’s family has refused to speak since her reported disappearance.
