(Jamaica Gleaner) Hillary Thompson’s face had sadness all over it yesterday, as she ponders the fate of her father Gilbert Thompson, who has not been seen since Sunday.
“We surmise that the river or the gully wash him weh last night,” she told THE STAR. Thompson, 68, of Plantain Walk, Dallas Castle, left his home some time after 6 p.m.
He was supposed to be picked up by his son, but decided to travel alone, on foot, during the heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Laura.
“Him leave out fi a vehicle come pick him up and from then we a call him phone and we nah get him. So, we surmise that the river or the gully wash him weh. That is the only explanation. Maybe he is in the Bull Bay River or something,” Hillary told THE STAR. As heavy rain and high winds pummelled the country, neighbours tried to convince the elder, known widely as ‘Santa’, to wait for company. But, according to one woman, he insisted that he wanted to leave.
HAVE BEEN SEARCHING
“He left from Lyndhurst Gap going down to Dallas Castle. My stepbrother said he got the calls after six for him to pick him up, but he could not wait on him to come and get him, so he was there walking,” Hillary added.
She said family members and friends have been searching for her father for hours. As the rain poured with gusty winds, they searched rivers and gullies until 2:30 a.m. Monday. “We still nuh see him. We searched out certain part of the river bed. We get up and go back out this morning and we still no see him. The place dark, we did afi a use phone light fi search fi him,” she said. “Where he would walk, the gully come down, so I think the gully wash him to the river. That’s the only clue we can come up with now.”
They have also made attempts to reach him by phone, in the event that he is safe somewhere. But numerous calls have gone unanswered.
“We keep calling his phone but we’re not getting anything. The phone ring to voicemail but now when we call the phone, it is locked off,” Hillary said.
At least nine deaths have been attributed to Laura, three of which occurred in the Dominican Republic and five in Haiti.
