Father and son drown in choppy seas at Sans Souci

What started out as a day promising to be filled with happy memories for a father and the youngsters in his care turned into one of tragedy and loss.

Days after Othneil Delpesche and his youngest son Eto lost their lives in the choppy Atlantic waters off the Sans Souci beach,{{more}} his mother, sister and girlfriend are thankful that, at least, their bodies were recovered, so that they could have a proper burial.

Shanel Delpesche, younger sister of Othneil, 39, told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday that the family was making plans for a final send off for “Odie,” as he was affectionately known, and nine year-old Eto, named after African football star Samuel Eto.

The grieving sister relayed her understanding of what took place on Saturday, June 7, when her brother decided to take two of his sons, her son Rakeem, and another youngster named O’Sayie, to visit relatives on the fateful morning.

“They were in good spirits that morning…. The journey began when they went by a family of ours for mangoes.

“When they were coming back, they were walking and the young one who died said ‘Daddy we want to go sea’ and the father say ‘you could control them waves dey’ and he say ‘yeah,’ and he carried them down, and they were down by the bay side playing games and the waves were hitting them and knocking them and they were playing.

“Then he tell them ‘come out leh we go,’ and when they were coming out, the same little one run back in and say he going back to take his ‘last soak,’ and that is when they started to encounter difficulties, and his brother said he went in the water and he was holding on to him, and then his father had him in his hand and then a big wave came and knock them over, and they never see them again, and that’s what basically what happen.”

While Osayie and Rakeem were able to make it back to shore; Rakeem with the assistance of Sans Souci resident Gabriel Smart, Othneil and his son’s bodies were not seen until the following day, when they were brought to shore by waves, hours apart, on another beach close by called Touloulou.

Othneil’s Mother Effie added that initially, when she heard that she had lost her oldest child and youngest grandson, she did not believe what was being said, but when she arrived at the beach and saw the crowds there, she realized that something was definitely wrong.

The matriarch told SEARCHLIGHT that that the family was holding strong with God’s grace, and indicated that she would continue hold on to the fond memories of her child and grandchild; both of whom were inseparable in life, and now in death.

“I am a very shaken up right now because my son was very close to me,” Anica Browne, Eto’s mother said of her son, who at the time of his death was a grade three student of the Greiggs Government School.

“Although I have other children, he (Eto) was the sunshine in my life…. He used to make me laugh. I am very emotional,” Browne noted.

Both Othneil and Eto were described as fun and life loving, high-spirited individuals.

Othneil was the coach of an under-13 football team in the area, and was also a farmer and labourer.

His sister says will be sorely missed by not only the immediate family, but also by those who knew him and who he interacted with on a daily basis.

“In his past life he was very aggressive, but never really got into any fights after he got his first son because he said his first son changed his life,” Shanel said.

“He was a good brother and a very loving coach. Family oriented. His kids loved their father very much.”(JJ)