AP investigative report: The case of bones in a drifting boat

AN investigative report carried in the Associated Press (AP), which took the course of 12 months to compile and spanned four countries including Trinidad and Tobago, have answered several questions in relation to the bones of 14 people which were found in a boat drifting off the coast of Tobago in 2021.

The skeletal remains were found in the pirogue off the coast of Belle Garden on May 28, 2021.

The bones were taken to the Scarborough General Hospital, where autopsies were done in June of that year. The cause of death was inconclusive owing to the state of the bodies. Sources said there was "little more than skeletons."

The bodies were later taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James in August 2021 where some of them remain up to this day.

A probe led by ACP William Nurse of the Tobago Division revealed the boat originated from Mauritania, in northwest Africa, and the bodies were likely those of migrants.

Last month, DNA testing conclusively identified one body as that of Malian national Alassane Sow.

Sources originally believed Sow was from Mauritania due to the country of origin of the boat.

Sow's body was removed from the centre and taken to a cemetery in Central Trinidad, where Muslim prayers were held and it was buried.

While an official cause of death remains unknown owing to the extent of decomposition, officials suspect Sow may have died from hypothermia and dehydration as a result of being lost at sea.

The 13- minute long report titled Adrift, was posted on the AP's official YouTube account early on Wednesday morning and sought to retrace the steps of the migrants while locating their relatives.

Speaking with Newsday, lead journalist for the report Renata Brito explained the investigative process.

Brito visited TT in 2022 as part of her investigation and spoke with Tobago police, Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne and officials at the Forensic Science Centre, where the bodies were stored.

She said one of the first steps to identifying who these people were and where they came from were on a cellphone found aboard the boat.

The information on this cellphone was extracted by officers of the Tobago Division's Cyber Crimes Unit which revealed the contacts list.

"Once we had those numbers, we were able to trace back who this phone likely belonged to and discover that it belonged to a taxi driver who disappeared after boarding a boat on the night of January 12, 2021, in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, along with 43 other people.

"So we basically compiled a list of the passengers we knew, 33 of the 43 we were able to name."

Brito said it was possible that only 14 bodies were found as migrants who died on long voyages were thrown overboard by the survivors.

It is believed this continued until the remaining migrants were no longer strong enough to remove anymore bodies.

"Of the 33 people we identified by name, there was a family we really followed closely because they had an aunt in France. "Alassane Sow had an aunt in France who was looking for him.

"We hired a laboratory who sent a sample of saliva from Mr Sow's mother to the Forensic Science Centre, where comparisons were made of DNA taken from Sow's bones.

"In October, the Forensic Science Centre in Trinidad finally responded confirming that it was a positive match so the family was able to know for sure that Alassane died on that boat and his body was in Trinidad."

Brito said Sow's family originally wanted to travel to Trinidad to see the remains and arrange for his funeral but were unable to do so owing to the exorbitent cost of travelling from Africa to TT.

She said the relatives were assisted by a Marabout (Islamc leader) from their country who had worked in Trinidad for some time.

This man was able to visit the Forensic Science Centre, take custody of the body and organise his funeral.

Brito said once Sow's remains were conclusively identified, the Red Cross visited Mauritania and collected 51 DNA samples from people whose relatives were missing.

These samples she said were sent to Trinidad for DNA testing at the Forensic Science Centre.

"You could potentially have more people being identified in the coming weeks or months.

"Apart from Alassane Sow, whose identity was confirmed by DNA tests, we also found t-shirts of other men.

"There was this t-shirt that was very striking because the print on it read, 'Hello, is it me you're looking for?'

"That was very spooky and it turns out that when we visited Mauritania before going to Tobago, we spoke to the mothers of missing migrants and one of them shared a photo with us of her son wearing that shirt.

"So we believe her son is among those found in Tobago, but only a DNA test can confirm that for sure."

Brito said the findings of the investigation were bittersweet as it confirmed the worst fears of relatives but also offered closure on the fates of the men.

She said the work done was necessary to give much-needed answers to the families and thanked the authorities in TT who assisted.

"These people have families who are looking for them.

"Death is very difficult but when you don't know, you always have this anguish that can be very difficult to live with.

"A death is tragic and it's very traumatic but there's a grieving process that can begin once you know for certain your loved one is gone.

"At the beginning it was a little hard to get information but once I was there in person and explained the work I was doing, for the most part everyone really co-operated and was helpful in sharing information with us.

"I think they understood that it was necessary step because we were kind of a bridge between the families and the authorities in Trinidad."

Brito also noted TT's continued storage of the migrants' bodies, as other countries usually buried the bodies of migrants before they could be properly identified.

"I think it was really amazing that Trinidad has kept the bodies for so long.

"I'm not here to judge when someone should be buried or not if they cabn't be identified but I think Trinidad and Tobago realised they could really make a difference and ultimately identify these victims by sharing information like that."

Nouadhibou in Mauritania is 3000 miles away from Tobago.