St James teen drowns in Great River

The frustrating search for a teenage boy who was washed away in a section of the Great River in Hanover ended in tragedy on Monday morning, after his body was fished from the water.

The deceased has been identified as 19-year-old Xavier Daley, of a Guava Walk address in St James.

Reports from the Sandy Bay police are that Daley and a group of boys from his community went to a section of the Great River on Sunday morning, where they intended to catch fish. The boys were reportedly scouting for fries - which are some small fish - at a section of the Great River Water Treatment Plant, when Daley fell into the water.

Search ended prematurely

The other boys raised an alarm and the Sandy Bay police were summoned to the location. Upon the arrival of the police a search party was launched by local divers and they were later joined by members of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard and the Marine police. The search ended prematurely on Sunday due to poor lighting, but resumed yesterday when the divers fished the body from the water.

His mother collapsed on the banks of the river and had to be rushed away to hospital. Relatives described Daley as a fun-loving, obedient person.

Meanwhile, residents of Great River stated that the location where the boys had gone to catch fries is considered to be a very dangerous.

"The youth dem know seh dem must not go a that section of the river because that deh part a killer," one fisherman from the community told THE STAR.

"A nuff people drown right inna that same area over the years, and everybody know seh that deh part a di river nuh nice, so everybody stay weh from that deh part," the fisherman said.