Search Continues for Male and Female Washed Away in River in St. Mary
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The Wag Water River in St. Mary, Jamaica, became the scene of a tragic incident on Thursday, as two individuals were swept away by floodwaters, leaving their families in a desperate plea for assistance days later.
The missing individuals, 19-year-old Chrisan Steele and 25-year-old Omar Skyers, were part of a group visiting the river when the calm outing turned into a nightmare due to the river’s dangerously rising water levels, fueled by recent heavy rains across the island.
The tragedy unfolded around 2:45 p.m. in Castleton, when Steele was first knocked off a rock by the powerful river current which involved debris. Skyers, in a heroic attempt to save her reportedly jumped into the river but was also overtaken by the floodwaters.
As of Friday evening, their bodies had yet to be found, leaving their families in a state of growing anguish.
The search effort, which began shortly after the incident, had to be halted on Thursday due to unsafe river conditions. However, on Friday, a group comprising relatives and friends resumed their desperate hunt, combing through miles of riverbanks and wading through treacherous waters in the hope of finding their loved ones.
Unfortunately, their efforts proved fruitless. Time and again, their hopes were raised when they spotted objects resembling human forms, only to be crushed when they realized they were merely debris.
Among those leading the search was Chrisandra Steele, the younger sister of Chrisan, who painfully recounted witnessing her sister being swept off the rock by a wave of water, along with a rush of debris. “She freeze on the rock…then a big wave come lick her off. Her head was going up and down until I could see her no more,” Chrisandra told a Jamaica Observer reporter
The lack of official assistance added to the families’ frustration. Nicholas Johnson, Steele’s uncle, revealed that no police or rescue teams had been involved in the search, despite promises that the Jamaica Defence Force and marine police would be dispatched.
This latest tragedy comes amid heightened concerns in the area, where, just a month earlier, a five-year-old girl had drowned in the same river. Local residents, expressing their sorrow, lamented that too many lives had been lost to the river, highlighting the danger it posed to those unfamiliar with its unpredictable waters.
A third day of search will take place today Saturday, September 14.
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