Tragedy struck the Hyles family last Friday, when the youngest son and brother lost his life while on duty.
Akeem Aaron Osapah Hyles, 22, Special Constable attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) drowned after the boat he was in capsized in the Amatuk Falls area, Potaro River.
The 22-year-old, the youngest of 11 siblings, hailed from 41 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice and was among a team of Joint Services personnel and officials of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) seeking to halt illegal mining at the Kaieteur National Park.
Mother of the young man Carol Hyles said her son’s death was a grievous blow to the family. She said, “On Friday the police came and said Hyles dead, he drowned and he get hit in he head,” after which she started to scream in disbelief.
“This was he dream job. He father was a police as well. When he been small, he use to go at the factory that was nearby and draw a gun on a piece of wood and tell them man to cut it out,” the teary-eyed mother recalled. Though she questioned how she will move on, she answered herself, “I will put my faith in God and he will show me the way.”
Donnette Hyles, a sister of SC Hyles, told Stabroek news that she was the first person to receive the message that her brother had passed away. She recalled that on Friday last a friend of her brother’s called to say that he had heard that the boat which Hyles was in capsized. She said she immediately called her older brother Maxwell Hyles, a Sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), to gather as much information possible.
She said she could not believe that her younger brother had passed away. She went on to state that her brother Maxwell got to the Guyana
Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) office and phoned home, confirming the family’s worst nightmare. “They told him [Maxwell] that they find the body and it supposed to meet out Saturday morning. But then they said was a false alarm. Then Saturday night them say them find the body and then them called back and say they found the ammunition alone,” she said. At this time, Donnette took to social media to vent her frustration at the force for not providing the family with adequate information on time. However, the body was found last Sunday.
According to the sister she is confused and concerned about the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death. She said she was told by members of the police force that her brother drowned. However, she said the post-mortem examination report states that her brother died due to “blunt trauma to the head.” She was also told that no one was wearing a lifejacket at the time of the mishap. It should be noted that it is a mandatory requirement to wear a lifejacket when travelling on the country’s waterways.
According to family members, Akeem Hyles was a jovial young man. They noted that he was always helpful and had a sunny personality that was very engaging.
His body is currently at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home and Crematorium. Funeral service will be held tomorrow at his home.
