The relatives of the two missing fishermen are not satisfied at the pace of the police’s investigation and are calling on all of the authorities to assist them.
Missing at sea are Samuel Dabideen, 43, and his son Arjohn Peraud, 23. The two men along with Omadat Basdeo and Mahesh Singh had embarked on the fishing trip on September 27 on a vessel owned by another person and on October 2, the owner of the boat contacted Dabideen’s family to say he and his son were missing at sea.
While the men were on a large vessel, Dabideen, Persaud and Singh had boarded a smaller boat, leaving Singh behind. Several hours later, the boat reportedly capsized and the men were stranded at sea. While Dabideen and Persaud are still missing, Basdeo said he swam to Trinidad and Tobago and was sent back to Guyana.
The relatives Persaud and Dabideen are upset with the police’s handling of the situation. One relative explained that they had gone to the police since last Tuesday and were not taken seriously. “They kept pushing us around… since then and now it’s been over a week and they still can’t be found,” the relative said.
However, yesterday the police took statements from the family as well as from Basdeo and Singh. Acting Commander of D Division Assistant Commissioner Leslie James told Stabroek News that the matter was only brought to his attention yesterday and as such an investigation has been launched.
While Basdeo had indicated that he had reached Trinidad, James said the police had not yet contacted the authorities in that country for assistance and could not do so unless they understood the full story.
“We just want the authorities to go out there and search for them because we know they are still alive and we just want them to come home,” Theresa Persaud, Dabideen’s wife told Stabroek News yesterday.
Stabroek News was unable to contact the Maritime Administration Division to find out whether it would be assisting in the search.
