Govt. hires retired RCMP sleuth to probe Adriana Younge’s death

May 09, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News-  The Government of Guyana has hired Leonard Mc Coshen, a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigator, to assist in the probe into the death of 11-year-old Adriana Younge.

Adriana’s lifeless body was pulled from the Double Day International Hotel swimming pool by her father, Subrian Younge, on April 24, just 20 hours after she was reported missing while on a family trip at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo location.

A post-mortem examination (PME) was conducted on April 28 by a three-member international pathology team. The specialists, Dr. Shubhakar Karra Paul from Barbados, Dr. Gary Collins, Chief Medical Examiner of Delaware, United States of America and Dr. Glenn Rudner of Mount Sinai Hospital, concluded that the child drowned.

However, with more questions than answers surrounding the girl’s death, there was a public call for greater transparency into the investigation and international assistance in the probe.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement on Thursday, described Mc Coshen as “a trained and qualified homicide and suspicious death investigator.” The ministry said that he “has over 30 years of experience as an investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  He had spent 20 of those years attached to the Serious Crimes Branch (SCB) in the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), with the mandate to investigate serious, complex and sensitive matters, mainly homicides and deaths where foul play was suspected.”

According to the ministry, Mc Coshen has supervised and coordinated more than 200 investigations, including homicides, kidnappings, and other serious cases, bringing a “wealth of training, qualifications, and experience” to the case.

Adriana’s family had publicly called for international investigators to spearhead the investigation into the child’s death, specifically asking for officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Scotland Yard, or the RCMP. The family’s initial attorney, Darren Wade, had written to President Irfaan Ali on May 2, 2025, reminding him of his commitment to the child’s family that a thorough investigation would be conducted.

The lawyer reminded the President that in two separate statements dated April 24 and April 25, the mother of the deceased also made this appeal, which was widely circulated in the media.

To this end, he explained, “Despite these several pleadings by the family, you have failed and/or neglected to invite any of these agencies, as a result I am instructed by my client as I hereby do, to remind you of a promise of a thorough investigation, one of which the Guyana Police Force lacks the necessary competence and creditability to provide and to invite the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Scotland Yard, or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate the matter.”

Wade, in his appeal to the President, urged that this step is critical not only for the integrity of the investigation but also to provide the family with the necessary closure.

Kaieteur News understands that no formal response to the request for international assistance in the investigation was issued by the state.

When contacted on Thursday, Adriana’s aunt, Amika Lewis, said that the family was not informed of the government’s decision to hire Mc Coshen.

“No, they weren’t aware of it and we weren’t contacted, including my sister and the father,” Simon said, noting, “We heard about it on Facebook.”

Meanwhile, late Wednesday night, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) released “some” preliminary findings from the PME conducted on the 11-year-old’s body.

The Police, in a seven-point statement, highlighted the following:

1. There was no evidence of sexual assault (her external genitalia were examined and found unremarkable with her hymen intact);
2. Her soft tissues as well as skeletal structure were free of traumatic injury;
3. There was a residual cone of foam identified within her nostrils and oral cavity, which is often observed in cases of drowning (this finding dispels any contention that there was cotton wool in her nose);
4. The skin changes observed were from prolonged immersion with ‘washerwoman’ changes noted on bilateral hands and soles (washerwoman changes are also consistent in cases of drowning);
5. The skin was found to be intact and free from antemortem injuries (Meaning that she did not receive any injuries to her body prior to her death);
6. The sphenoid sinus was found to have approximately 1ml of liquid (this is the air space located in the brain consistent with drowning);
7. Liquid was also found in the lungs of the deceased, which is consistent with drowning.

Further, the GPF reminded that a comprehensive toxicological study of the blood and gastric contents is being conducted by the National Medical Services (NMS) Laboratories in the United States. Additionally, tissue specimens are undergoing histological analysis by Mount Sinai’s board-certified forensic and diagnostic pathologists in the United States, according to the Police.

The Force also disclosed that water samples from the pool were collected and sent overseas for testing.

States, according to Police.

The Force also disclosed that water samples from the pool were collected and sent overseas for testing.

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