IT HAS been over two months since eighteen year old, Andel Raymond Daniels, was fatally shot at Catherine’s Burg, Canje River, about seventy miles from the New Amsterdam Township in Berbice, and his family is seeking answers with regard to the young man’s killer and circumstances surrounding his death.

Daniels’ grandfather, Lowell Amsterdam, is hopeful that his grandson’s death will not go unsolved- much like the disappearance of his own daughter – Daniels’ mother- 37 year old, Gould Marcellene Amsterdam- who went missing three years ago.

Amsterdam said that residents along the Canje River are tight lipped but he hopes that they will reveal any information they may have about how his grandson met his demise to investigators. “As a family, we want answers and we want closure. The death of my grandson has created deeper wounds, as the wound of my daughter’s [disappearance] was never healed,” he said.

Further, Amsterdam, added that he is yet to hear from investigators, since submitting a statement to the police after his grandson’s post mortem examination in August. He stated that on that occasion he was told that the police were awaiting a ballistic report, after which a decision would be made on the way forward. But, two months later and still no response, Amsterdam said.

Daniels died as a result of a gunshot wound to his abdomen, just above his navel. Reports were that the teenager, formerly of High Dam, Caracas, West Canje Berbice, was accidently shot in his abdomen, after a stairway- which was being rehabilitated -collapsed under him. It was said that Daniels was on his way to the bathroom, and was carrying a shot gun to protect himself as he had earlier seen wild animals in the vicinity. Another report alleged he was shot during a hunting expedition, while another claimed that he had shot himself.

At the time, the teen, along with some colleagues were cultivating plots of land at Catherine’s Burg, about two miles from Ikura, and a further fifteen miles from the heavily populated Bara Cara.

Reports are that after Daniels was shot, he was placed in a boat and transported to Ikura. From there he was placed in another boat to the medical centre at Bara Cara, before being transported to the New Amsterdam Hospital, but succumbed sometime before arriving. Following the report, police ranks from Central Police Station and attached to the Criminal Investigation Department travelled to the riverine community were they recovered a 16-gauge double barrel shotgun in the boat which had transported Daniels from Catherine’s Burg to Ikura.

The police then proceeded to Catherine’s Burg where they inspected the house which was then under rehabilitation and location where the incident allegedly occurred. Relatives had reported that they received a phone call at around 21:30 hours on August 4, that Daniels was shot and seriously injured and that he was being transported to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

This incident has gravely shaken the family as it is the second tragedy to strike within the last three years. In October 2013, Gould Marcell Amsterdam, known as ‘Massa’, who was seven months pregnant when she was reported missing. The woman, who was a neighbourhood police rank at the time and a mother of three, went missing after she left to go and visit the father of one of her children, Errol Lindo, who had lived next door. Amsterdam has not been seen or heard of since.

Following the reports of the missing woman, police arrested Errol Lindo, after a search behind his home unearthed a sheet and a canvas rope. “My sister has left without a trace. These things only happen in the movies. My Sister is not an angel, but she was industrious, independent and needs to be with her children,” one relative said.

Relatives are appealing to the general public, and anyone who knows the whereabouts of Gould Amsterdam called ‘Massa’ or ‘Greens Lady’, or any information leading to the truth of Daniels’ death, that they contact the family on telephone numbers 645 0593, 601 4975 or the nearest police station.