Bodies of mother, son pulled from Demerara River

…boat capsized near Dalgin

The bodies of a mother and her young son were pulled out of the Demerara River early yesterday morning, two days after they went under when the boat they were in capsized.

The bodies of Malika Wilson and her son Adam Wilson-said to be about three years old- were badly decomposed.

The two bodies were discovered a short distance from the Dalgin community located on the Demerara River by a search party led by the woman’s husband, Collis Wilson.

A sister of the woman told Stabroek News that the bodies were now at the Lyken Funeral Home.

She said her sister lived at Akawini, Essequibo, with her five children but had travelled to the Dalgin community to spend some time with her husband who was working as a logger in the area. She had taken the couple’s two younger children while the three older ones-all girls-remained at home with their grandparents.

According to her, the woman along with her husband and two children and a nephew of her husband were crossing the river to purchase foodstuff from a shop at around 3pm last Friday.

While in the middle of the river one of the children almost fell out of the boat and Malika attempted to save the child and the boat capsized.

The woman’s sister said while she was a good swimmer she panicked and her husband was holding her and their only son and propelling her to the river bank.

The couple’s daughter was on the back of the man’s nephew who apparently became tired and the child somehow came off his back and was going down.

“My sister tell she husband to pass the little boy and go and save their daughter,” the woman’s sister said. She said the husband related that he did as he was told but by the time he rescued his daughter and turned around his wife and son were nowhere to be seen.
Frantic searches by him proved futile but he formed a search party and was relentless in looking for the bodies.

The couple’s three daughters have been brought out of Essequibo and it is expected that the bodies will be buried shortly because of the state of decomposition.