-partly decomposed body found floating in river
The partly decomposed body of a female teenager was fished out of a river in the Gaettroy village, Berbice River, yesterday afternoon, some two days after she allegedly plunged overboard after attending a birthday party.
Dead is 18-year-old Melissa Soman of Lot 58, Stanleytown, New Amsterdam , Berbice.
She was last seen alive on Wednesday night by a 48-year-old labourer who had been transporting the female in his wooden boat.
Reports are that around 20:30h, Soman had been returning to her home after attending a birthday party which was held in the Gaettroy Village, when she disclosed to the labourer that she was encountering difficulties with her boyfriend.
According to the man, the girl “suddenly plunged overboard” and despite his efforts to rescue her, he was “unable to save her.”
He reportedly raised an alarm and a search party was subsequently formed.
However, it was not until yesterday around 15:00h that the teen’s body was seen floating on the Eastern side of the river in the vicinity of Gaettroy Village.
Her body was fished out and it was observed that the upper portions of her body, face, and right hand appeared to have been eaten away by fish.
According to the police, Soman’s body is currently at the New Amsterdam Hospital Mortuary where it awaits a Post Mortem Examination (PME).
Meanwhile, the labourer whose boat she had been travelling in prior to her death, remains in police custody and is assisting with the investigation.
