Young man drowns during fishing trip

Before Earl “Slim” Cupid set out on his fishing trip, he prayed for God’s blessings. Sadly, he never returned from the trip. Instead, his body was fished out of the waters off Kingstown on October 23, 2009.{{more}}

The body of the 24-year-old Kingstown Park resident was discovered by the Coast Guard at about 7:50 am after he disappeared the previous night.

Cupid’s best friend, Hazael “Sheepy” Henry, who was with him on the fishing trip, survived to tell the tale of how his friend lost his life.

Henry, 23, also of Kingstown Park, said they set out around 7 pm to go fishing just off the reclamation site on Thursday, October 22. “When we reach, I see he make a prayer for a blessing,” Henry said. He added that it was the first time in all the years they had been fishing that he had ever seen Slim pray before starting to fish.

Henry said they had been out in the waters for quite sometime on their small float but the fish were not biting. “We ain’t see no fish biting, so I tell him ‘Leh we move up by the Cruise Ship Terminal’, but nothing been happening, so I tell him ‘Leh we just go home’,” Henry recounted.

While floating on the water, Henry said they felt a tug on one of the fishing lines which they had placed in the water. He stated that Slim placed his foot on one of the oars and tried to pull the line. The unthinkable happened next.

“I see the oar slide from under he foot and been floating in the water, so he take off his bag and jumped in for it…I know he is a good swimmer and he call out to me two times, but when he jump off, is like he push the float adrift,” Henry recollected. That was the last time he saw or heard from his best friend.

“Fishing or going hunting will never be the same again without Slim…we use to do everything together and I go miss him.”

Cupid’s mother Rosena Roberts is still trying to recover from the pain that is piercing her heart.

“I still can’t believe he get taken away from me just so…he was my hand and foot, and this is the hardest blow I ever get in my life,” Roberts said.

The grieving mother recalled coming home from work on October 22 at about 7 p.m. She said she asked her son if he was going fishing. “He didn’t say anything, but he just gave me this smile before he left,” Roberts sobbed.

She noted that he usually returns from fishing around 10 pm, so when he did not turn up, Roberts said she began to worry. “I been kinda worried, but I thought they were catching plenty fish and they ain’t come home yet.”

Roberts added that she had problems sleeping all night and it was not until around 5 a.m. that Henry’s relatives came to her house and told her what had transpired.

About three months ago, Roberts said she dreamt her son was going to get married in November. She said she warned her children about the dream and said it sounded like death. Instead of Cupid walking down the isle next month, he will be laid to rest on November 2, after a funeral service at the Kingstown Seventh Day Adventist Church at Granby Street.

“I’m tired of crying, but I just can’t stop…he was the one who helped me so much with everything. We used to share ideas and watch TV together and I am going to miss him a whole lot,” Roberts cried.

Before his death, Cupid was enrolled in the YES program. He worked as a mechanic in Arnos Vale.