Coast Guard recovers body of missing teenager

The lifeless body of Roosevelt “Dougal” Williams was discovered by the Coast Guard last Monday afternoon.{{more}}

SEARCHLIGHT understands the 18 year old’s corpse was spotted by the Coast Guard at Rawacou while they were searching the shoreline.

Williams disappeared at the Stubbs Bay on Thursday, July 8, 2010, after he encountered difficulty while swimming in the water with his sister Shanika Baptiste, who was home on vacation from Canada.

Shanika’s cousins, Michael and Dwayne Miller, who live close to the beach were alerted to the situation and immediately dashed to the area.

When SEARCHLIGHT spoke to Michael, he expressed hurt that he was unable to save Roosevelt.

“I feel sad because I did not see him,” said Michael.

“I was sleeping but when I heard what was happening. I took off my clothes and ran to the beach and jumped in the water,” he added.

“The only thing I saw was Shanika’s face. I couldn’t see the boy, so I went out and brought her in,” Michael recounted, adding he had to be assisted by his brother.

“The water was really rough, real bad. When I went back to look for the boy, the water licked me up on the rock. My hand was numb and I could feel it had come out of place,” said Michael.

This resulted in him having to spend last week Thursday night at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH).

Dwayne, recounting the experience, said he was just about to cook when he was alerted of the incident.

He said he did not see Shanika or Roosevelt when he arrived on the beach.

“As soon as the swell started to break, I saw her in the air. I jumped off into the water. When I got to Shanika, it was stiff to come in, but we still made it to the land,” Dwayne stated.

Last Sunday, when SEARCHLIGHT visited Jane Williams, Roosevelt’s mother, she said she was keeping hope that her son was alive, but that was dashed on Monday afternoon when the news broke that his body was found on the Rawacou shore.

When contacted, the Coast Guard disclosed that a post-mortem was expected to be conducted on Roosevelt’s body during the week. (HN)