Investigators review crucial footage; independent expert arrives tonight to join probe

INVESTIGATORS probing the death of 11-year-old Adriana Younge are in possession of video footage captured around the time the child was reported missing, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum disclosed on Monday.
While the surveillance camera directly overlooking the hotel’s pool area was not functional, other recordings and photographs are being closely analysed as the case reaches a critical stage.
Blanhum confirmed that a forensic review of the digital video recorder (DVR) system determined the pool camera was inactive on the day in question. However, he said the police do have other relevant footage that may prove vital to the investigation.

Over this weekend a photograph was circulating online, reportedly taken at 1:29 PM on the day Adriana went missing, showing several persons in and around the pool area at the hotel.
Given the time stamp and claims attached to it, Blanhum was asked whether the image had been verified as part of the investigation and will it be addressed publicly as new evidence.
“What I can tell you is investigators are in possession of video footage either prior or at the same time an alarm was raised that Adriana was missing,” Blanhum told reporters at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
He also disclosed that the investigative team has been instructed to leave no stone unturned.

“I have instructed them to ensure that they do not disregard any information or any evidence during this probe,” he said.
The Crime Chief further revealed that the investigation is now at its “evidence culmination stage,” with detectives examining various theories, all of which will be tested against the available evidence.
“We have selected the best to work on this matter, and the investigators are very objective,” he noted.

The independent investigator, a distinguished retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Mr. Leonard Mc Coshen, is expected to arrive in the country by Monday night to support the Guyana Police Force in the ongoing probe.
Mc Coshen is a trained and qualified homicide and suspicious death investigator.
This additional resource, according to Blanhum, will enhance the integrity and thoroughness of the investigation.
As part of ongoing efforts, police have contacted several of Adriana’s family members over the weekend and plan to question at least two more individuals who were reportedly in the pool on the day the child went missing.

Meanwhile, the owner of the hotel where the incident occurred remains under active monitoring.
“There were certain conditions imposed on him—he is required to report to the police daily and has been prohibited from leaving the jurisdiction,” Blanhum confirmed.
Adriana was found dead on April 24, 2025, in the swimming pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), the day after she was reported missing. She disappeared shortly after arriving at the hotel with relatives.

Adriana, a promising pupil of the Parika Salem Primary School, had written the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) days before her tragic death and was eagerly awaiting her results. It was always her dream to attend the prestigious Queen’s College.
Following the discovery of her lifeless body in the hotel’s pool, the building was set on fire and enraged ‘protestors’ looted the establishment.
Additionally, the home of the hotel’s proprietor was torched by unknown persons.

It has since been reported that three internationally respected forensic pathologists have concluded that she died by drowning.

Samples taken from the body were sent for testing at the Mount Sinai Hospital and the National Medical Services Laboratory in the United States and the authorities here are awaiting those results.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has already announced that everything possible will be done to ensure that the circumstances are investigated and her family gets the closure.