Missing body identified as missing teenage body
– An autopsy reveals that he has drowned; he was last seen on camera walking towards Harbor Bridge
Died, Joel Skeete.
Kaieteur News – The decomposing body found on Monday lying face-to-face on the Belle Vue foreshore located on the west bank of Demerara (WBD) has been identified as the body of the missing girl, Joel Skeete, 19.
An autopsy conducted on his remains revealed yesterday that he had drowned.
Skeete, a full-time student at the University of Guyana (AS), disappeared sometime after 19: 10hrs on March 31, after leaving a barbershop in the Harbor Bridge Mall located on the east bank of Demerara (EBD). He had said that he had called his mother, Lorenza Griffith around that time and informed him that he had finished cutting his hair and was “leaving to come home”. Griffith waited that night for his arrival but Skeete never made it home.
According to new information arriving at Kaieteur News, shortly after the call to his mother, Skeete was seen walking toward the Demerara Harbor Bridge, captured on photos of a security camera at the bridge. He had apparently walked out of the camera range and hasn’t been seen since.
The search for Skeete ended tragically on Monday, following the discovery of his decomposing body at Belle Vue on the West Bank, a short distance upstream of the bridge. Police found the body at about 13: 45hrs and Skeete’s uncle, Julian Skeete, identified the remains at about 19:00 that day.
As the Skeete family struggles to cope with its demise, the University of Guyana (AS) noted yesterday that its Care Team is deployed and ready to provide whatever support is needed. This support will be for not only his family but also his friends and teachers. AS also noted that the organisation’s community is mourning its loss and “hopes that the authorities will be able to provide solutions that survivors so desperately want”.
So far, there are no signs of foul play around his death. His cellphone and key were found inside his pants pocket. However, investigations are ongoing.