THE mother of a six-year-old girl is in police custody assisting with investigation after the child was found with injuries to her head and face on Sunday, a distance away from her home. Up to press time, the child remained in an unconscious state in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). According to the police, the mother and father of the child have been separated but the father has been given visitation rights, to be with the child on Sundays. The police stated that around 08:00hrs, the father contacted the mother, indicating that he will pick up the child. As such, the mother prepared the child and left her playing in the yard.

At the time, the child’s grandmother was at her home doing house chores, and last saw her about 11:30hrs. However, about 12:30hrs when the grandfather made checks for the child, he did not find her. As a result, a search party was immediately formed by relatives and friends who combed the entire area and about 14:00hrs, during the search, the child’s grandfather found her submerged in a swampy area, about 500 feet away from the house, covered in mud. Speaking with Guyana Chronicle, the grandfather said he is still in a state of shock and is grateful to have found her alive.

“Everyone was searching and keep saying ‘let’s us check further up the dam’. I walked up and didn’t see. I continued searching and calling out for her, but is when I coming back, I see her face, so I start holler for help! Help! But they couldn’t hear me, so I collect her and run until the police them collect her from me,” the grandfather said. The child was found with a gash to the back of her head and cuts to her face. A piece of wood was found nearby. Family members said it is uncommon for the child to venture that far away from home as she would be playing around the yard and outside on the street. The child was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital but was later transferred to the GPHC. Meanwhile, a neighbour was also arrested for questioning as investigation continues.