Ricky’s mother, Salimoon Rahaman was inconsolable upon being informed of this yesterday. She believes that it is her son and noted that on the day he left, he was wearing short ‘cargo’ checkered pants. Ricky’s father, Jainarine Dinanauth, 45, and a family friend, Henry Gibson, 45, died in the August 11 incident. That evening, the three were heading to Hog Island in the Essequibo River. The bodies of the two men were discovered in the shattered boat the next morning but there was no sign of Ricky. Since then, a relentless search by Rahaman failed to yield any sign of the lad. Relatives believe that rogue coast guards were involved in the incident and up to now it is not clear how it occurred.
Rahaman reported the matter to the Parika Police Station at about 5pm yesterday and said that she was told by the lawmen that she would have to find the person who saw the bag and then they would go to the spot. The grieving woman said that a close relative on the Island told her that it was a big bag and when it was opened the pants and the bones were seen. There was also a mask, a pair of gloves, a spoon, a fork and a small bowl with the bag, she said.
Rahaman had scoured the Essequibo in search of her son in the weeks following the incident but her searches failed to yield any sign of the lad. Relatives believe the rogue coast guards were involved and had rammed the boat, robbed the men and killed them. An investigation by the Maritime Adminis-tration Department had found blue paint on the green Coast Guard vessel. And there were green paint marks on the blue and white boat that the trio was in. Persons had also reported that in the days following August 11, the Coast Guard boat was dry-docked for three days and there were reports that a section had been painted over. A Guyana Defence Force investigation was “inconclusive” but it did find that the Coast Guard boat was in the river at the same time as the boat the trio was in. The blue paint samples from the Coast Guard boat were handed over to the police for testing. It is not clear if this has been completed as yet. The file on the matter was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
