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Police Marine Unit Commaner Finley Leonce said he has received official confirmation that the St. Lucian men who have been missing at sea since Wednesday, March 8, have been found alive.
They are now in Barbados.
In addition, Leonce said it has been confirmed that it was four men who were missing, and not three as his Unit was initially informed.
Leonce said he has received information from a credible source that the men were picked up yesterday, 110 miles west of St. Lucia by a cruise ship from the Celebrity company. Leonce said it is not yet clear how the men got stranded at sea.
He said the men are currently with the cruise ship in Barbados and are scheduled to arrive in St. Lucia tomorrow.
Leonce said on their arrival here, the men will be questioned by police.
“We will take statements and verify the facts as to what happened,” Leonce said.
In a previous interview, Leonce said a family member of one of the men contacted police and reported that the men were found last evening and would be back on island today or tomorrow. However, at the time, Leonce said the police could not make an official announcement based solely on the family member’s account when the authorities have been unable to find the men and had not made direct communication with them.
Meanwhile, St. Lucia News Online (SNO) was contacted by the mother of one of the missing men.
Sharon Raymond told SNO that her son, Aldan Raymond of Marigot, was among a group of four who left St. Lucia on a boat on Wednesday, March 8. Initially, she was told that a total of three men, including her son, left on a fishing boat.
However, based on new information received, Sharon said three of the men are from Marigot and the fourth is from Ciceron, Castries.
Sharon explained that she last saw her son on Tuesday when he celebrated his 30th birthday. On Wednesday, Sharon said she slept away from home by a friend, but returned on Thursday but did not see Aldan.
“I went home and saw my other son. He was in his school uniform and I asked why isn’t he at school and he said he was waiting on Aldan to give him lunch money to go to school. So I gave him money to go to school,” she said.
Later on, Sharon said she got news that her son was among the group who went to sea and did not return as scheduled.
However, she said all is well now because she received a call from her son’s friend, who told her that Aldan is safe and will return to St. Lucia tomorrow.
According to Sharon, the friend told her that Aldan had been calling her phone many times, ithout success, then resorted to calling him instead.
Sharon said the friend was not told where the men were located. However, the mother disclosed that she also heard rumours that the men were discovered near Colombia, which has turned out to be false.
Asked if she knew about her son’s planned ‘fishing expedition’, Sharon said: “I didn’t know he was going on the trip.”
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