Wild hog hunter’s body recovered from ravine - Family relieved to give him proper burial

The body of 65-year-old hunter Renold Franklin was removed from a ravine in the hilly interior of the Rio Grande Valley, Portland, shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday by a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) helicopter, which was called in to assist with the recovery effort.

Franklin, who hunted wild hogs for the better part of 40 years, went missing last Saturday after completing another successful day of hunting with one of his brothers and friends. Though his body was found on Sunday morning, there were tremendous challenges in getting to it.

Britney Franklin, daughter of the deceased, said that the family now has closure and that they will now be able to conduct a proper burial for her father, who was well loved by the communities of Bellevue and Mill Bank in the Rio Grande Valley.

"I have to thank all the persons who supported us during the effort to recover my father's body," she said.

"It was very stressing and frustrating for us as nobody could eat or sleep knowing that his body was still lying out there. I have to give all the people involved a big shout out for their efforts, although there was a lot of delay in recovering the body. I specially thank the fire brigade, the police, the JDF, residents, Colin Bell, and Desmond 'Debo' Gouldebourne," she added.

According to reports obtained from residents and family members, Franklin, after hunting, was determined to head back home from the hills of Mill Bank, about a 20-mile walk, last Saturday night. His colleagues urged him to wait until daylight. However, Franklin reportedly insisted that he was not going to spend the night in the bushes due to the cold weather and mosquitoes.

It was his faithful dog that kept barking which led his colleagues to fear that something may have happened to Franklin. They searched for him and on Sunday morning, Franklin's body was found barely visible among the branches of trees more than 3,000 feet below a precipice.

An alarm was made and as early as Sunday morning attempts were made to remove the body. But the efforts were thwarted due to the vegetation, and the issue was compounded by the depth where the body was lying.

After four days of trying to retrieve the body, a JDF helicopter, which had to abort the recovery effort days before, was successful in airlifting the body to Folly Oval. The body was then taken to the morgue.