After two days of extensive searches, the hunt for the body of the dead miner Michael Leslie, suspected to have drowned in a gorge below the Kaieteur Falls, was terminated on Wednesday afternoon.

Two soldiers from the search team, traversing treacherous terrains in search of Michael Leslie’s remains. (Photo courtesy of the GDF)

The Guyana Defence Force, in a press release issued yesterday, said the decision was arrived at with the concurrence of the dead man’s brother, Courtney Perry, who was also involved in the recovery operation.

Leslie, also called ‘Shortman,’ of Lot 328 West Ruimveldt, Georgetown was last seen alive on November 29, when he left to carry a relative to the Kaieteur Landing in his canoe. He was due to return to his worksite, located several miles away, after the drop off.

Following searches, the man’s body was discovered at about 1.30 pm Monday by a GDF team consisting of two Officers and 12 other ranks at the gorge below the Kaieteur Falls.

The army had said it was not possible to rope the body to the top of the falls because of its location.

The recovery team was forced to place it in a body bag, wrap it in a tarpaulin and fetch it on a stretcher to Tukeit, a three and a half hour trek. Rope, securing a tarpaulin wrapped around the body, entangled the leg of one of the soldiers as they were crossing a rapid about two hours from their destination.

Both the entangled soldier and the body, the army had reported, were being dragged along the rapid and “in order to save the soldier,” a decision was taken by the other team members to sever the rope and the miner’s remains were swept along the rapids and disappeared. The team was able to rescue their colleague. Searches subsequently commenced to recover the body.