Just days before her 24th birthday, the body of a young woman was recovered from the Essequibo River where she had gone to swim and drowned on Thursday.

The body of Bibi Rampersaud of Parika Outfalls, East Bank Essequibo was recovered hours after she disappeared on Thursday.

Her father used an anchor to scour the river bottom and it dragged the body up by the shoulder.

Rampersaud’s mother, Joyce Ghanie told Stabroek News yesterday that Rampersaud, another daughter and a friend had gone to the riverside to swim on Thursday afternoon. She said that at 5.30 pm, the two returned and told her that Rampersaud did not want to come out of the river. She stated that Rampersaud did not know how to swim but “loves to bathe” and would often go to the river. However, since the young woman suffered from seizures and would often give her trouble, Ghanie said, she went to call her but couldn’t locate her.

After a futile search trying to find her, the rest of the family joined in and they called neighbours and other relatives to see if she had gone to visit. However, after it was established that was not the case they feared the worst and a frantic search ensued.

After searching the area without success, Ram- persaud’s father scoured the area where she had gone to swim, with an anchor tied to a piece of rope. This device caught on to her shoulder and they pulled her up some time after 8 pm; the tide was high. The body was carried to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

A post mortem examination yesterday confirmed that she had died as a result of drowning.

Ghanie revealed that next Thursday would have been Rampersaud’s 24th birthday.

Rampersaud leaves to mourn her parents, five sisters, three brothers and other relatives.

Her funeral will take place today.