A body suspected to be that of Philistine Franci called ‘PI’, 72-year-old of Karrau Village, Essequibo River was on Sunday recovered in the vicinity of Hubakabra, Karrau Village, Essequibo River.
The Guyana Police Force, in a press statement, said they were investigating a suspected drowning of a pensioner which occurred between Wednesday, May 15th and Sunday, May 19 at Karrau village, Essequibo River.
The police investigation has revealed that the victim was missing from her home and was last seen on May 15 in Karrau Village. However, on May 16 at about 13:00 hrs, the police received information of a body floating in the Essequibo River. A search party was formed comprising of residents of Karrau Village and the police. At about 16:30 hours Sunday, the said body was located in the vicinity of Hubakabra. Upon examination, the police said that the body was observed to be a female of Amerindian descent, suspected to be Franci. The body was observed floating face down, clad in burgundy skirt and a multicoloured top.
According to the police, due to the advanced state of decomposition, marks of violence could not be determined. The body was later placed in storage and will later be transported to Georgetown for a post-mortem examination.
Toshao Shane Cornelius of Karrau Village told Stabroek News yesterday that last Wednesday night, the village held a wake for a child who had died recently and everyone attended the wake including Franci. The next day, Thursday, he said the village had its elections, so no one noticed Franci’s disappearance as everyone was preparing to vote. It was not until the following night [Friday], he added, that villagers became aware of Franci’s absence and started looking for her without success.
Cornelius related that on the said night, they were informed that a body had floated up but without a location given. On Saturday, villagers shared Franci’s photo again within the village, including the places she would normally frequent but without success. They then suspected that the body discovered floating might be Franci. The body was eventually retrieved on Sunday, Cornelius said.Philistine Franci called ‘PI’
