Man who went missing from mining camp found floating in river

Feb 17, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – A father of two who reportedly went missing from his mining camp since last Wednesday was on Sunday afternoon discovered floating in the Puruni River by his workmates.
The man has since been identified as 59 –year-old Franklin Smith of Mc Doom, East Bank Demerara.
Kaieteur News understands that Smith was working with a miner of Dartmouth Village, Essequibo Coast, at Rock Creek Backdam, Puruni River for about a month. The man was first employed as a gold miner and later took up the position of being a cook.
Based on information received, the man’s workmate told police that on Wednesday they left Smith at the camp cooking, while they head to the work site, which is located three minutes away. Sometime later around 17:30hrs, the workers recalled that when they returned to the camp they did not see the Smith. An alarm was raised and they began searching the area but he was not found.
On the day of the discovery, around 16:00hrs, the father of two was found floating in the river and his body was already in an advanced state of decomposition. The body was removed and was later transported to the Lyken Funeral Home where it is awaiting post mortem examination.
Kaieteur News understands that an investigation has since been launched into the matter. Speaking with this publication yesterday, Smith’s daughter recalled that she last spoke to her father on Wednesday, the same day he was discovered missing. The young woman shared that he informed her that he had not too long finished cooking for the camp and was going to relax. “He told me to call back on Friday, so when I try calling him on Friday, the phone keep ringing out”, the woman added. She explained that some days later, after visiting a family, she received news from one of her cousins that one of his workmates called and had informed them that Smith was missing for a couple days. It was not a normal situation, whereby he would disappear for days, and because of that she became worried. She said that on Valentine’s Day she received the news that her father was found floating in the river. She informed Kaieteur News that she has not received any contact from Smith’s employer regarding any details surrounding the death of her father. Smith, who was described as a very fun and jovial person, leaves to mourn his son and daughter, and other relatives.

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