A boat captain and a 38-year-old businesswoman are feared drowned after the boat in which they were travelling reportedly capsized in the Takutu River, Lethem, Central Rupununi, on Friday evening.
Missing are Walletta Rigby, the businesswoman of Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden, and an unknown Brazilian national who was the captain of the boat at the time.
Police stated that on the day in question at about 05:30h, Rigby and her friend Shaunette Gonsalves, 48, a housewife of Beverly Hills, Lethem, Central Rupununi, crossed the Takutu Bridge and went to Bonfim in Brazil to purchase some products.
However, at about 22:30h on the said night, the women entered a small wooden boat, captained by the Brazilian national on Brazil’s shore.
Gonsalves told Police whilst they were crossing the said river, the boat capsized as a result of the weight and strong current of the river, and they reportedly went under water.
Gonsalves, however, managed to grab on to the branch of a tree and as she looked up for the others, they were nowhere in sight.
The following morning at about 06:00h, Gonsalves was still holding on to the said branch, when she noticed two unknown Amerindian males passing in a boat and raised an alarm. She was rescued and immediately told them what transpired.
She later reported the matter to the Lethem Police Station. A search was conducted on Saturday for the missing persons but there was no sign of them.
The current flow of the water is reportedly moving at a speed of 40mph in an eastern direction. Further checks are being made as investigations continue.
