A Norton Street woman is at her wits’ end as she tries to remain hopeful that her husband will make a safe return after he reportedly went missing several days ago in the Mahdia area.
Missing is 47- year-old Shawn Clarke, of Lot ‘C’ Norton Street, Lodge.
According to his wife, Rachelle Clarke, the man, a miner with over 20 years of experience, was last heard from on July 10.
At around 7 am on that day, she said, he called to inquire about a package that he had requested be sent to him in the interior.
The woman told Stabroek News that her husband had indicated to her his plans to uplift the package later that day at Mahdia before traveling to an area dubbed ‘North America’ for work.
She went on to say that prior to this, her husband had been stationed at another area, known as North Fork, in the Mazaruni area.
Further, the woman stated that she was contacted by a bus driver who related that her husband never turned up to pick up the package he had requested.
Later that night, around 8.45pm, she noted that she received a call from her husband, who said that he was still working but would be traveling on foot to collect the package and, therefore, he would be a little late.
“Sunday or Monday, we got the bus driver to call him, but the calls went unanswered,” she related.
Two of his friends went into North Fork on Friday morning to enquire about his whereabouts and they were told that he left with a man identified only as “Marlon.”
Reports are that Clarke went to another backdam in Mini Hall, where a shop owner was able to confirm to the friends that the missing man passed through with the person identified as Marlon.
A missing person’s report was subsequently lodged at the Mahdia Police Station.
Rachelle Clarke said that when she called the station, she was told that the police are still enquiring about her husband’s whereabouts.
The woman stated that she received a call on Sunday about the sighting of a body by a crew that was coming out of the area. She said before the police got to the area, the body had been moved, only leaving behind semi-charred articles suspected to have belonged to her husband.
That same day, she explained, “Marlon” was taken into custody, where he remained up to yesterday. She said he has told investigators that he had left the missing man at an airstrip, where he was making a phone call. He reportedly said that upon his return to the airstrip, he did not see Clarke.
The distraught woman told Stabroek News that she suspects her husband may have been a victim of a fatal robbery, since he was in the habit of sometimes having cash on him to send for her.
Nevertheless, she stated that all she wants is to have some closure to the situation.
