4-y-o goes missing at grave digging

After losing her only son two years ago, Tricia Thomas became a mother to her grandnephew Shakiel Patterson, but she is now living one of her worst nightmares, as Shakiel has been missing since Sunday afternoon.

Thomas, 46, revealed that Shakiel disappeared during her mother's grave digging.

"He was playing with the other kids. At around 2:30, he came to me and said, 'Mommy, I'm thirsty.' I gave him a drink, and that's the last time I saw him going off to play with the other kids nearby," she said. As the afternoon wore on, Thomas grew increasingly concerned when she couldn't find Shakiel.

"When it was around 4:30, I was getting ready to go home and couldn't find him. Nobody could tell me where he went," she said. "I don't have a soul who would want to take him because of any problems. He is just a sweet little boy."

Thomas has been Shakiel's primary caregiver since he was just two weeks old.

"His mother gave him to me because she used to have to go back and forth to Spanish Town and was under a lot of stress," she explained. "My mother, who recently passed away, was a pensioner. We, along with the [maternal] grandmother were the ones helping out. She [Shakiel's birth mother] said she was 'going up' (abroad) but couldn't take the child, so I said I would take him." Shakiel's mother was initially unaware that he was missing.

"I was calling her but couldn't get her," Thomas said. "I finally reached her because she saw the link about Shakiel. She didn't even know my mom who helped her had died." Thomas revealed that she had plans for Shakiel, including to legally adopt him.

"After I was sorting out passports for the other kids, I couldn't do one for Shakiel because my name isn't on his birth paper," Thomas revealed. "I asked his birth mom to go through the court proceedings when she returns from Barbados." She described Shakiel as a calm toddler, especially when he has his tablet. He is also the only boy among five girls in the family.

"We miss him dearly," said Thomas. "Even the youngest baby does her normal routine, going to his bed where she would wake him up."

"I don't know which Satan came and took weh my pickney. We searched the bushes, drains, everything we could think of and didn't find him. There are no rivers or pits nearby." Her hope remains strong despite the emotional toll that his disappearance is taking on her.

"But for my concern, I know that my boy didn't die," Thomas said firmly. "Somebody needs him, but they won't have him for long. I am praying and asking everyone to send out their prayers and help me search for him so I can get him back. I know he will be back home soon with the help of God."

The situation mirrors another recent case involving a missing child, Roshaun English, who vanished under similar circumstances in his family's yard in Red Ground, Old Harbour.

"It's my belief that it's somebody who doesn't have any children going around and kidnapping other people's children. It must be somebody who wants a child because there were so many children running up and down at the same time as Shakiel," she said. "It's a terrible, awful feeling. I can't even explain how I feel. All I need is Shakiel."