[UPDATED] Jaric Titans player, 11, returns to Tobago on April 9

JARIC TITANS Sport and Development Club head coach Brian Browne said the 11-year-old boy who had to remain in England was expected to return to Tobago on April 9.

The rest of the club, which travelled to England to take part in the Manchester International Easter Cup from March 29-31, returned to the island on April 5 on a British Airways flight from London’s Gatwick Airport.

On the Tobago Updates morning show on April 8, Browne said the boy, who had travelled as an unaccompanied minor, was properly cared for. He was left behind because he could not find his passport.

“He is comfortable. We had to buy a fresh ticket for him and a (club) manager…They are travelling around. I think they went to Buckingham Palace,” he said.

“There is a lady that has been like a guardian angel for them in the UK, Arlene Alexander-Price. She did some work for us on the ground over there and she came across and made the whole thing easy. So he is in good hands.”

Browne said the boy’s passport went missing just as they were about to board the aircraft.

“I know people will start to bounce around 'irresponsibility,' but it was not the case, because all through the trip, the boys were absolutely well taken care of and these things were looked after.

“It was mandatory that each child come through every checkpoint with their passport, and that passport was handed to him and taken after every checkpoint. So just before we entered the plane, it was given to him as well.”

But, Browne said, “Boys being boys, I think he went off to buy some sweets, he and an older boy. The media had it to say was a nine-year-old. But it was a 15-year-old boy that went with him.”

He said the concession stand was not far from the departure lounge “and on returning, everyone is going on to the airplane (sic) and time for him to board – no passport.”

Browne said they searched everybody there.

“A lot of the group had already boarded and we checked everybody. We sent messages on board for people to check their bags.”

He said while the searches were being made, a flight attendant had asked people to settle down for take-off.

As a result, Browne said, the child had to remain in England.

“That hambug the whole process of a thorough search, and lo and behold, when we got back to Tobago, the said boy that he went to the shop with had the passport. It was in his back pocket.

"It was an unfortunate situation.”

He said the club had since obtained a travel document for the boy, and his passport had been passed on to his mother.

“We took it to her. So he will have it to use when he gets back.”

Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne, in a Newsday interview on April 6, said the boy was receiving assistance from the TT High Commission team in London "with respect to the provision of emergency travel documentation."

He said the commission was giving the issue "our determined attention."

This story has been updated to include additional details. See original story below.

JARIC TITANS Sport and Development Club head coach Brian Browne said the 11-year-old boy who had to remain in England because he could not find his passport is expected to return to Tobago on April 9.

The majority of players and supporters of the club who travelled to England to participate in the Manchester International Easter Cup, from March 29-31, returned to the island on April 5 via a British Airways flight from London’s Gatwick Airport.

On the Tobago Updates morning show on April 8, Browne said the boy, who had travelled as an unaccompanied minor, was properly cared for.

“He is comfortable. We had to buy a fresh ticket for him and a (club) manager…

"They are travelling around. I think they went to Buckingham Palace,” he said.

“There is a lady that has been like a guardian angel for them in the UK – Arlene Alexander-Price. She did some work for us on the ground over there and she came across and made the whole thing easy. So he is in good hands.”

A gofundme account to raise funds for the Jaric Titans group was formed by Alexander-Price after Browne appealed to the public for donations to cover the team's accommodation while in England. Approximately £6,685 of the £60,000 goal was raised.