
by Carlena Knight
Government is insisting it is doing everything in its power to speed up the process of identifying human remains found during the search for missing teen Shamar Harrigan.
On Monday morning, relatives plus members of local NGO the Blue Dragonfly Foundation, the police and their K9 Unit, and other volunteers conducted a search in the Willikies area where the 19-year-old’s clothes, shoes and backpack—items he was last seen wearing—were discovered south of the Willikies salt pond.
Following a more concentrated search of the area, human skeletal remains were found.
Given the lengthy delays in formally identifying other bodies discovered in recent years, government spokesman Lionel Hurst was asked during Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing what government was doing to ensure a prompt result in this case.
“Let me assure that we have done everything we possibly can. We have some limitations. Very often we have to send the tissue away to Trinidad where the labs are more sophisticated in order to do more things like determine the cause of death or even the identity of the cadaver,” he said.
“It means therefore that it takes more time and also more resources, and we have found the resources but we can’t create a shorter time period to get the tissue to Trinidad and then have the results returned to us quickly,” Hurst said.
Harrigan, who has autism, has been missing since November 14, which has led to multiple searches conducted by both air and land. A $5,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts was also offered by St Phillip’s North MP Sir Robin Yearwood.
On Thursday, Harrigan’s sister Shauntelle Barton told Observer she remained optimistic her brother would be found alive. She added that she had been assured the process of identifying the remains found in Willikies would be expedited.
Meanwhile, there is still no word on when a badly burnt body found after a devastating fire in Nut Grove in January will be formally identified.
Hurst said government has covered all of the necessary requirements and it is just a matter of waiting.
But it’s now been almost a year since 16-year-old Dequan Cummins’ home was lost in a blaze on January 10, and without official confirmation that remains found among the rubble are his, the family are unable to bury him and pay their final respects.
His father Michael Cummins, 45, previously spent weeks searching for his boy. He had raised the child since he was a toddler after the boy’s mother moved to Guyana.