MR. ROY SUCCESS, father of 11-year-old Shemar Success expressed total dissatisfaction in the way the Coast Guard operated yesterday afternoon. The man telephoned the Guyana Chronicle just after 19:00hrs to inform that a Coast Guard patrol had spotted the body of his son, but failed to take appropriate retrieval action.
He said he was informed by a fisherman that the Coast Guards were patrolling in a small boat when they spotted the child’s body floating in the Demerara River between the Laparkan Wharf and the Coast Guard headquarters, but because of the size of the boat in which they were travelling at the time, they did not secure the body, but instead turned their boat around and headed for their headquarters at Ruimveldt. And by the time they had returned to where the body was spotted, it was no longer there.
The elder Success is contending that, even if the Coast Guards had reservations in pulling the corpse into their boat, there were other methods they could have used to retrieve it. He opined that the men could have roped in the corpse and tow it to their head quarters.
He said that when he arrived at the Coast Guard Headquarters he was informed that a team in a larger vessel had already left to locate the corpse.
Last evening, when this newscast contacted a senior officer of the Coast Guards, he said he was unaware of the reports. He also informed the Guyana Chronicle that he was not in a position to speak to the media.

Accountable
Meanwhile, this publication spoke yesterday afternoon with the adult who had taken the children to fly kites on Tuesday when tragedy struck.
“As a father, I feel like I can’t catch myself, because this is an experience that I will have to live with until God is ready for me; because I hold myself accountable.” Those were the words of David Evans, called “Buddy”.
Evans told the Guyana Chronicle he finds it difficult to relax, because everywhere he turns he sees images of the missing youngster.
The man recalled that he and the children, who included three of his own, went to fly kites just after noon on Tuesday. The agreement was for the small group to fly their kites behind the Pegasus hotel in Kinston, and throughout their sojourn there, he had total control over the children. He recalled cautioning them against entering the water.
The man said it was at approximately 15:30 hrs when some other known boys – teenagers — showed up, and the children began liming with the teenagers, and he allowed them to walk about a bit, as he expected that the teenagers would have been able to keep the children under control.
But it was only when he saw one of the youngsters bringing clothing and cell phones that he knew the children had disobeyed his directions, and that the teenagers were not in control of the children. He added that the youngster had told him that the boys had sent their clothing and asked that he keep it for them.
David said he immediately made his way to the jetty, where the children were, but before he could have reached them, the same young man came running towards him to inform that the waves had carried Shemar away. The 41-year-old man said he began running towards the location while stripping himself. When he arrived at the jetty, he jumped into the water, unfortunately injuring his leg and head in the process. Nevertheless, he continued searching for the youngster, but had to retreat after he became tired and was not locating the child.
He said that when he exited the water, he began shouting and crying, and eventually lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he was in a car being taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Evans admitted to being the one who had taken the children to the area to fly kites, and it was his hope to bring them back just the way he had left with them. He said that taking the children out for an Easter outing was nothing new, as it was something he had started doing some time ago.
He said it was the children who had requested to fly their kites at the seawalls, their contention being that the seawall was the right place to raise the kites and the breeze was ideal for kite flying.
According to Evans, from the time they had arrived at the location to fly their kites up to the time the elder boys arrived, the water was several feet out from the land. In attempting to prove his point, the man disclosed that they were even able to dwell on the area that was usually referred to as ‘the beach’, and for the children
to come into contact with the water, they had to walk several feet along the jetty.

A mother’s tale
Also speaking with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday afternoon was Ms Karen Maynard, mother of the dead Shemar. She said that, yesterday, one of her other sons took her to the location where the children were swimming. She, too, was of the view that it took a lot of walking for the children to come into contact with the water. She said she was at her East Bank Demerara home when she received a call from her daughter on Tuesday informing her that she needed to travel to the city urgently, because something had happened to Shemar. The woman added that as she spoke on the phone she heard loud wailing in the background, and immediately released the phone and hurried to the city.
Upon arrival at her son’s West Ruimveldt residence, she was greeted with the news that he had died.
According to Ms. Maynard, she has been weeping for several hours, and only stopped late yesterday afternoon because she now has to be strong for the rest of her children, including a four-month-old baby.
She recalled that one of the children who had accompanied the others to the jetty related to her what had transpired there. According to her, five of the children went into the water when her son, Shemar Success, began having difficulty. One of the other boys attempted to grab him but was lashed by a violent wave, causing him to lose his hold on the youngster.