Five persons are in police custody after their colleague Elroy Lewis, 20, reportedly drowned at Sisters Village, during a return trip from across the Berbice River, where they had gone to catch iguanas.Lewis’ family believes that his disappearance is due to foul play, even as the search for him continues.

According to the young man’s sister Jenica, she was in the hammock when a villager reported that her brother had gone fishing with him and jumped off the boat and drowned.

The villager then walked calmly away after communicating the message.

The teenager said she screamed on hearing the news, but managed to muster the courage to tell her father the tragic news that was related to her.

Villagers subsequently told her told her to be calm as that information she received may not be true.

But even with this assurance, a neighbour referred to as “Cliffo” said he did hear cries of Help! Help! but did not pay much heed to it.

Reports are that six men, inclusive of the now missing man, had joined a motorised engine vessel for a place commonly referred to ‘Kaman Sankar’ to catch iguanas.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that while close to the Sister’s Village seashore, Lewis and two others plunged overboard in pursuit of an iguana.

The other two made it to the surface, but Lewis did not.

Lewis’ family believe that something ‘fishy’ happened. They claim that the story told to them by the men who went with Lewis is contradictory.

They related that at one time they are told that Lewis alone jumped overboard and they tried to save him with outstretched paddles while another time they are hearing that several of them jumped overboard.

Lewis’ family also related that he never went to catch iguanas and it was strange that he went with the iguana catchers.

The missing man’s reputed wife Venita Ali said he left home on Tuesday just after 08:00hrs, but did not say where he was going and she assumed he was going to work.

Lewis makes concrete blocks for a living but would do odd jobs in between.

At his home on Wednesday evening, persons gathered lauded him as a good young man with a bright future ahead.

At the gathering, Lewis’ family recalled that he and a known individual had a misunderstanding some time ago which led to him facing an assault charge.