Hotel cameras were active when Adriana Younge went missing – Todd says

Jul 18, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Dr. Dexter Todd, the attorney representing the family of 11-year-old Adriana Younge, has revealed that surveillance cameras near the pool of the Double Day International Hotel were active at the time the young girl was reported missing.

This information, according to Dr. Todd, contradicts previous claims made by senior police officials that the cameras were not operational during the incident. During a press conference held on Thursday, Dr. Todd disclosed that his private investigation team, which was formed from the beginning of the case, had received eyewitness confirmation that the surveillance cameras at the hotel were functional on the day Adriana was reported missing. “We want to put this on record, we are aware that the cameras at that hotel were active,” Todd told the press.

This information contradicts the earlier statement made by Crime Chief and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Wendell Blanhum. On May 12, 2025, while addressing journalists at the Association of Caribbean Police Commissioners (ACCP) Annual General Meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Blanhum stated that the surveillance camera covering the pool area was not working on the day of the incident. He noted that forensic video analysts reviewed the hotel’s DVR system and confirmed the malfunction. He also said the hotel owner and technician had informed investigators that the camera had been out of order a week before Adriana’s disappearance. “The investigators were reliably informed that the camera that was affixed to the pool area, that that camera wasn’t working on the day of the incident,” crime chief said.

However, Dr. Todd challenged this claim by asserting that witnesses observed police removing multiple DVR units from the hotel premises. “We are aware of the amount of DVRs that were handed over to the police that were retrieved from the hotel. There are witnesses who saw that the police removed DVRs from the building. There are witnesses who saw how many DVRs were handed over and I can tell you that the numbers differ,” he said, contradicting the case further.

In a previous interview with Kaieteur News, attorney Dr. Dexter Todd revealed that a private international investigative team is actively reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death of the 11-year-old. According to Dr. Todd, the team is currently analysing surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and speaking with persons of interest connected to the case. The team’s aim is to conduct an independent, thorough investigation and compare the findings with those of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). The team is headed by a digital forensic expert from the United Kingdom. Dr. Todd emphasised that the team is not interfering with the official investigation or witnesses but is instead focused on gathering evidence independently to verify whether the narrative presented by the police aligns with theirs. He further stated that the information gathered by the private investigative team may also serve to hold the GPF accountable should there be any misrepresentation or omission in their findings.

Too many questions unanswered

Meanwhile, Dr. Todd expressed growing concern over the direction of the police investigation. Dr. Todd said that too many critical questions remain unanswered. One key issue is the number of people interviewed in relation to the case. According to him, several individuals who appear in video footage from the time Adriana went missing have not been contacted by the police and they are hoping to get more information about them.

Dr. Todd also raised concerns about the integrity of the investigation report. “When they talk about this over 400 pages of report, I am a bit concerned where they got those things from because the key person, the person who started the live of this young girl being missing, was never interviewed by them, was never contacted by the police. That person that started the live, never moved from that scene,” Dr Todd said.

Further, questions posed by forensic pathologist Dr. Terry regarding the investigation and the toxicology report remain unanswered. Dr. Todd expressed scepticism about the police’s willingness to cooperate with Dr. Terry or the legal team. “At this point in time I don’t believe they are going to corporate with Dr. Terry outside of giving her that report because if the police were interested in corporation with Dr Terry and the request, their posture and their response to us at the legal team would have been quite different,” he said.

Dr. Terry had requested access to photos and videos of the pool area to determine if anything within it could have trapped Adriana. She also requested detailed information about the pool’s tile patterns. She also raised a question about the source of the water sample used for the toxicology examination. “If a toxicology examination was done, where did the police get the water from?  Because at the time the autopsy was done that pool was empty. So, if they did take the water from the pool, when did that happen?  That is why Dr Terry wanted to see the toxicology report. Too many questions are unanswered in this matter,” Dr Todd explained.

Adriana Younge was reported missing during a family trip to Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, and her body was discovered on April 24, 2025, in the swimming pool of the Double Day International Hotel—just 20 hours after she disappeared. A post-mortem examination was performed on April 28 by the team of international experts who concluded that the cause of death was drowning.

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• Adriana Younge, Double Day International Hotel, Dr. Dexter Todd, drowning, surveillance cameras

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