Friend of vanished Forestry employee kills self

Oct 28, 2019 News

– missing man’s relatives, colleagues fear the worst

Police have stepped up investigations into the strange disappearance of Guyana Forestry Commission employee Michael Banfus, who has been missing for over a month.
Relatives and colleagues of the 26-year-old fear that he has come to harm, particularly since learning that an individual with whom Banfus was last seen has committed suicide.
The individual, who is from Berbice, is said to have hanged himself shortly after Banfus disappeared.
Forestry officials have contacted the police.
Ranks and colleagues who checked the Cummings Lodge, East Coast apartment where Banfus resided found his belongings, including his passport intact.
Banfus has been employed at the Forestry Commission as a woodworking technician for some five years. One colleague described him as a “very quiet, friendly and reliable individual.”

Missing Forestry employee: Michael Banfus

A friend of Banfus’ said he last saw the Forestry Commission employee at his apartment on Saturday, September 21.
He was allegedly in the company of a male Berbice resident, who often visited the apartment.
There are reports that Banfus, accompanied by the same individual from Berbice, then went to the Sophia Exhibition Site, where the 2019 Indigenous Heritage Month celebrations were being held.
The two men were reportedly later seen at a cricket club, located in Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown. Banfus has not been seen since.
A friend of the Forestry employee said that he attempted to contact Banfus via cell phone after Banfus failed to return to his apartment.
He eventually received a text message that was sent from Banfus’ phone. The message indicated that Banfus was in Linden and was staying at a friend for two weeks.
But the individual who was receiving the texts said that he eventually suspected that someone other than the texts were being sent by someone who was pretending to be Banfus.
“Certain things that I asked, he (the person sending the messages) did not answer correctly,” the friend said.
According to the friend, he urged ‘Banfus’, via text message, to contact his family to reassure them that he was alright. Banfus reportedly never responded.
A few days later, relatives learnt that the Berbice resident, with whom Banfus was last seen, had hanged himself.
Kaieteur News understands that relatives of the individual who committed suicide say that they did not see Banfus in Berbice.
“We don’t know what has happened to him,” a source who assisted in the search said.
“All we know is that he has disappeared. We were told that he was at a friend in Berbice, and we travelled there and found out that the friend had committed suicide, so that is where we are right now.”
The source is convinced that some individuals who were questioned are concealing information about Banfus’s fate.
The missing man’s cousin, Vianne Banfus, is also convinced that he would have contacted her and other relatives if nothing was amiss with him.
“He is from Region Eight, and he would always contact me anytime he is traveling there,” she said.
Banfus has now been missing for 33 days.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Michael Banfus can contact his cousin, Vianne Banfus, on telephone numbers
216-3347, and +592 659-7321.
They can also contact Kaieteur News (+592-645 2447) or the nearest police station.

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