Body of missing soldier found

The partly decomposed body of Corporal Wesley Hopkinson still fully uniformed in military camouflage was flown to the Ogle Aerodrome from the Cuyuni yesterday afternoon.

Wesley Hopkinson
Wesley Hopkinson

Corporal Hopkinson and Private Colwin Harris went missing after a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) boat collided with a civilian vessel on Monday night in the Cuyuni River. Private Harris remains missing and relatives still hope that he might have survived.

GDF Chief of Staff (COS) Commodore Gary Best during a visit to the private’s Brushe Dam Friendship, East Coast Demerara home late yesterday afternoon informed the man’s relatives that the army was still searching for him and would not stop until he or his remains was found.

When Stabroek News arrived at the aerodrome at approximately 4.20pm the army skyvan carrying Corporal Hopkinson’s body had just arrived. A number of relatives were already gathered at the tarmac entrance and several burst into tears as the skyvan came to a halt.

Colwin Harris
Colwin Harris

Before Corporal Hopkinson’s body was transferred from the skyvan to the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour vehicle relatives were allowed to see him.  Initially, relatives could not recognize the body because of its state. However, Corporal Hopkinson’s mother and other close relatives confirmed that it was him. There was a gaping wound at the top of the man’s head.

“He probably got that from the propeller when he fell off the vessel,” a male relative said in an attempt to offer an explanation.

Savvie Hopkinson, the corporal’s older sister, told this newspaper that she didn’t believe what the army was saying about the incident.

House visits
According to Savvie, army officials who included Commodore Best visited their Victoria home yesterday afternoon to inform the family that her brother’s body had been found.

The woman explained that they were told that her brother’s body would be flown to Ogle. Further, she stated that the GDF officials had given them a summarized version of what took place in the Cuyuni River that night.

Savvie said she was told the GDF vessel collided with a Venezuelan vessel captained by a Guyanese. As a result of that impact, GDF officials had told the Hopkinson family, four men were thrown into the water and only two managed to climb aboard to safety. Further, the collision resulted in the army vessel sustaining damage and taking on water.

“If that boat was taking water like they told us then I don’t believe they would’ve taken the time to search then,” Savvie said.

Meanwhile, Harris’s mother Shaundell Headley reported that the army officials only informed her that they had located Corporal Hopkinson’s body and that the search for her son would continue.

“They told me nothing about what happened that night because according to them they are presently investigating the matter and would not be able to say anything until that investigation is over,” Headley explained adding that, “we still have some hope left.”

Corporal Hopkinson, 27, and Private Harris, 21, went missing after the collision. Two other soldiers in the boat made it to safety. In recent times there have been stepped up army patrols in this part of western Guyana to deter incursions from Venezuela.

A release was issued last night by the army on the discovery of the body and on what was so far known about the circumstances of the tragedy.

The army said “Investigations into this tragic incident have so far revealed that six soldiers were aboard a GDF vessel which collided with a civilian vessel in the Cuyuni River at about 20:30 hours on Monday evening.

Prelimi-nary reports indicate that four of the soldiers were thrown into the river by the force of the collision and two of them made it back to the safety of the boat while Hopkinson and Harris did not. Their colleagues immediately set about scouring the area in an effort to locate them.

“Search parties which included help from the civilian population in the area were launched resulting in the recovery of Hopkinson’s body some 15 miles from the area where the accident occurred.”

The release added that Chief of Staff Best yesterday visited the family and relatives of Corporal Hopkinson. The Commodore updated    the relatives including Hopkinson’s father and mother, and other concerned family members, regarding the current investigation and promised a full report at its conclusion. Commodore Best also offered Hopkinson’s father the opportunity to travel into the area to have a first hand look at where his son died.

Commodore Best restated the GDF’s commitment to working closely with the Hopkinson family to provide the necessary assistance for the interment of his body.

The statement also added that “Commodore Best also visited with the family of Private Colwin Harris who remains missing at this time. The COS updated them of the incident and assured them that the search for Harris will continue. He indicated that the GDF remains ready to provide support for the family and that they will be kept up to date as further information becomes available concerning the whereabouts of Private Harris.”

A senior army source told Stabroek News Wednesday evening that a Board of Inquiry has already launched an investigation into how the accident occurred and why the men were on the water.

About six soldiers were engaged in one of their periodic patrols of the area when the mishap occurred, the army had said.

The boating mishap occurred in the Cuyuni River on at approximately 8.30pm Monday. Soldiers who were stationed at Eteringbang were involved in the incident, a release from the GDF had stated.