Two families are now in mourning and another needs closure following separate waterside incidents.
The victims declared dead are Deon Baird, a 28-year-old labourer of Lake Mainstay, Essequibo Coast; and Seeta Ghannie, a 44-year-old housewife of Lot 65 Garden of Eden, EBD.
Vishal Narine, 26, a labourer from Lot 1 Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara (EBD) leapt into the Demerara River and has not been seen since.
Deon Baird
Police in Regional Division No.2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) said that Baird’s body was found at about 17:50 hrs at Lake Mainstay Resort, Essequibo Coast.
Investigations revealed that he lived with his mother, Janet Gomes, at Princeville, Lake Mainstay, Essequibo Coast.
Gomes, 56, said that her son left home on Monday, February 24, 2025, at around 11:00 hrs to go to the nearby Mainstay Resort. When he did not return home, she became worried and informed her 25-year-old daughter, Ashana Bair.
Ashana reported that at around 11:00hrs on Tuesday, she went to Lake Mainstay Resort in search of her brother. There, she discovered a body floating face down about 30 feet from the deck bar of the resort.
She raised an alarm, and with the help of other villagers, the body was retrieved. Ashana identified the body as that of her brother.
The scene was photographed and processed by Detectives.
The 20-year-old male bartender employed at Lake Mainstay Resort stated that on Monday, at around 17:00 hrs, while working at the deck bar, he saw Baird socialising with other villagers. Shortly after, he noticed him alone drinking Guinness at the bar. That was the last time he said he saw Baird.
CCTV footage retrieved from the deck bar showed Baird removing his clothing and plunging into the water on the eastern side of the deck bar, after which he did not resurface.
His body was then transported to Suddie Public Hospital, where the official pronouncement of death was made. The body was subsequently taken to the Suddie Mortuary, where it awaits a post-mortem examination. Investigations are ongoing.
Vishal Narine
Vishal Narine, the 26-year-old labourer, leapt into the water off the Land of Canaan wharf at about 16:50hrs.
Inquiries disclosed that Narine and an identifiable male were imbibing alcohol from about 07:30 hrs on the said date, and at about 15:00 hrs, he got into a verbal confrontation with his father, brother and sister because they reportedly refused to give him money to purchase more alcohol.
At about 16:50hrs, Narine left his yard, saying he was going to the river. His 33-year-old sister Parbattie Sancharra, attempted to stop him but her efforts proved futile. She then began calling for neighbours who are also relatives, for assistance in stopping him from going to the river.
At the time Daveraj Singh, a 28-year-old labourer and Narine’s cousin, pursued Vishal to the river but he jumped in before Davraj got close enough. Daveraj then observed that Narine was struggling and jumped into the river to rescue him. However, he claimed that the current was too strong, and Vishal went down. He made several other efforts to locate his cousin, but all efforts were in vain.
Seeta Ghannie
Ghannie, a 44-year-old housewife of Lot 65 Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, was pronounced dead after her body was retrieved from a creek at Madewini, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
Enquiries disclosed that at about 14:00 hrs on the said date, Ghannie, along with her husband Vijay Ghannie, a 45-year-old Contractor of the above-mentioned address and other relatives went to the creek for a family outing.
Further enquiries disclosed that at about 17:00 hrs, Vijay and his wife were in the water along with other relatives when he left and went to take a drink. A few minutes later he saw his relatives exit the water but did not see his wife.
He immediately raised an alarm and began making checks but could not locate her. About 15 minutes later he found her motionless body submerged in the creek and immediately rushed her to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where she was pronounced dead on arrival by Dr James at about 18:22hrs.
The body of the deceased was checked for marks of violence, but none were seen. Vijay Ghannie related that his wife normally suffers from epileptic seizures and that she might have had an attack while she was in the water. The body was escorted to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem examination.
