By: La’Wanda McAllister
Some ten days of searching came to an end of Thursday when the body of missing boat captain Carl Subratie was discovered in the Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Subratie, 61, of Palmer’s Point, Lower Mazaruni River, was reported missing by his family when he failed to return home on June 17, after having left his residence to transport a group of passengers to an interior location.
According to Sameena Sabratie, the man’s daughter, her father lived alone and had been working as a boat captain for the past 27 years, primarily operating in various interior locations.
The family grew concerned on Father’s Day, the day after he left home, when attempts to contact him on his mobile phone went unanswered. Despite continuous calls until Monday morning, there was no response, prompting Sameena to reach out to her uncles to inform them of the situation.
Subsequently, the boat captain’s brothers visited the location where he had dropped off the passengers and were informed that he had indeed completed the task and left the area to return home.
Upon the brothers’ return home, they reported the matter to the police. After several days of searching, the body was discovered on Thursday at around 12:00h below Marshall’s Falls in Lower Mazaruni River.
The police report noted that the body was found face-down in the river and exhibited several bruises and lacerations. It also indicated that the body was in advanced state of decomposition.
The body was subsequently taken to Bartica Regional Hospital, where a doctor examined and officially pronounced the man dead. The body has now been transported to Memorial Gardens Funeral Home for a post-mortem examination.
When contacted by this publication on Friday, the man’s daughter expressed unease about her father’s death. She said that although her father’s body was found, his boat remains unaccounted for.
Contrary to the police report, she claimed that her father’s body was not significantly decomposed and displayed what appeared to be chop wounds.
“His body was okay… I went to identify him. The only parts that looked like something was wrong were the swollen parts that seemed to have chop wounds. Something doesn’t seem right. How can somebody be in the water for 13 days and not be badly decomposed, and we can’t find the boat?”
While not wanting to jump to conclusions, the family says they will await the results from the autopsy before contemplating their next steps.
