Father of drowned child, 8, seeking answers

EVEN as he struggles to deal with the reality that his son is dead, the father of an eight-year-old boy is seeking answers on the circumstances surrounding the child's drowning at sea.

Police said that around 7.15 pm on September 22, five people were in a fishing boat named Perseverance which was two miles off Centipede Island, Chaguaramas and were assisting another boat which was floundering in the water.

While towing the other boat, police said, the rope snapped, causing both vessels to collide. The impact sent all five occupants of the Perseverance – including eight-year-old Kaden Sandy – hurtling into the sea.

A nearby vessel quickly assisted and rescued all except little Kaden who could not be found. The four were taken to the Coast Guard base in Staubles Bay for medical attention.

A Coast Guard vessel subsequently went to the area where the collision took place and Kaden's body was later found and recovered.

The body was later taken to Staubles Bay where a DMO ordered it removed to the mortuary for autopsy.

When contacted for comment, Kaden's father Jules Sandy said he is still trying to get answers on the tragedy. He described his son as a good and respectable child. "He would address everyone as 'aunty' or 'uncle' even if he only just met you. He was never on anybody level. He was always respectable."

Sandy said he last spoke to his son the day before his death, an interaction he admitted left him now feeling uneasy.

"My son called me and is only after I hang up the phone, that I really understand to myself that my son was asking for help."

He said the last time he spoke to his son, he (Kaden) was at the home of a female relative. He refused to elaborate more on that situation.

The grieving father said he got a call of the incident at sea around 7 am on September 23.

Sandy last saw his son on September 3 – the day before Kaden's eighth birthday.

"I cut his hair and everything. Other than that I had constant communication with him."

Kaden was a standard one student at Mucurapo Boys' RC School.

Police said investigations are ongoing. Newsday understands that a close female relative of the child lives in Tobago and that the boy lived with his grandmother. Investigations are continuing.