Skeletal remains confirmed to be of missing woman

An almost two-year search for her daughter, Chauntai 'Ali' Samuels, ended in nightmare for Jerdine Dixon earlier this month.

Speaking with THE STAR, Dixon said that, although she knew that the chances of her only daughter being found alive dimmed with each passing day, she was holding on to a glimmer of hope that they would be reunited. However, DNA tests conducted on skeletal remains that were discovered last year were confirmed to be from Samuels.

"Getting this news really broke me and I was in disbelief because I didn't want to accept what the results were saying. I was wondering if they were just passing on something to me. It's hard for me to imagine that this is the final thing and there is no more hope for me to see my daughter alive, [that] really broke me. As the days go by, I have accepted it as the truth and I am still trying to accept that I will not see my Ali standing again," Dixon said.

Samuels, who resided in Kintyre, St Andrew, was 22 when she disappeared on May 5, 2023. A missing person's report was made on May 8 by her mother at the Papine Police Station. Last April, human remains were found off Gordon Town Road in St Andrew. Samuels' daughter was just three years old at the time of her disappearance. Dixon said, as they mourn her death, they are contemplating how to break the news to the youngster.

"It's heart-rending for us as parents to have this horrifying experience. What are we really going to tell her child? The entire family is in grief as we prepare our hearts to lay her remains to rest. God is not sleeping and His hands are not short. So those who hurt her will not go unpunished," she said. On the day of her disappearance, Samuels and Dixon had made plans to meet but that did not materialise. A reward of $250,000 was offered for information on Samuels' whereabouts. Despite this, the family had received no meaningful information.

Samuels' funeral service will be held on March 8 at Lighthouse Assembly Ministries in Kingston. The interment will follow at Dovecot Memorial Gardens.