What happened to TT’s Lloyd James in Guyana?

Lloyd James, 82, alias, ‘‘Farmer,’’ of Wallerfield, left Trinidad on Thursday, August 27 this year, to join two friends on a hunting trip to Guyana, in the Mabura forest. However, two days later, he was lost without a trace. His disappearance has left his family and friends bewildered and while still in a daze, they are hoping, by some miracle, he may still be alive. It is now over one month since he’s vanished and despite a few avid searches by security officials in Guyana, they have turned up with absolutely nothing that could be linked to his whereabouts or his disappearance. He was accompanied by two friends, Emile Louis and Leonard Findlay and two forest guides from the Mabura area in Guyana, Andre Batson and Davon Singh.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday, James’ daughter, Annette, said his family doesn’t know what to think concerning his disappearance. The last conversation the two had before he left for his trip was that he was going on a hunting expedition in Guyana. The story of his missing status received a lot of  media attention in Guyana and the army was called in to search for him. However, they found no clue, traces, nor any evidence, of his whereabouts. According to Annette, “he just vanished into thin air” and described it as “mysterious.” A story in the Stabroek News said according to reports, “the man is feared dead, but his relatives are trying to remain optimistic.” Findlay said when they were in the forest, all James had in his possession were the clothes he wore, a plaid shirt and a three-quarter pants and a long piece of stick in one hand. He had no food and water when he disappeared.

Could he still be alive? That is the question family and friends are still holding onto. Another friend, Arthur Gray, who flew to Guyana, after hearing about his disappearance, held a press conference in Georgetown appealing for assistance in their search. A news report in the Guyana Chronicle stated that James was with other hunters and Gray said he knew them well, describing them as “buddy friends,” saying he had no reason to believe “anything went afoul.” In the Stabroek news, Gray indicated that James was an old soldier who had some survival skills and described him as tough. In a documented account of the forest trip, Findlay said, Singh, himself and James, had taken an upper road which then split off in two directions.
Louis and Batson were on the lower road and the idea, he said, was to scout around for a good hunting site, he recalled. “There was much talking. Amid all that talking (which Findlay found excessive since any animals would be frightened away), a rumbling was heard in the forest. James, Singh and Findlay went into the bush in the general area from which the sound had come. Findlay kept urging them to stay quiet.

They decided to go and see what was making the rumbling sound. It turned out to be from a group of monkeys. James was told to stay where he was and asked Findlay to sharpen a stick for him as a weapon, since he had no gun. He (James) walked away along a “bush road” which was an old tractor path, made for logging operations in the area. Findlay called out to James to turn back, but he continued on his way. He said he (Findlay) had the keys for the vehicle and had to stay out of the hunting area. “By then, James was out of sight. I told Singh about James’ decision to walk along. Singh had to run him down and told him to come out of that part of the forest. James insisted on continuing along, explaining that he was going around to meet Louis but he did not return with Singh,” he said. Findlay said Louis and Batson turned up without James, pointing out that he had gone around to meet Louis. Batson, who was a “pork-knocker,” knew the forest well and they started an indepth search.

“Strange” footprints

Batson followed the trace left by James up to a grassy area where he could see a path made by “someone who had recently passed there.” They turned back on Sunday, August 29, because it was getting dark and decided to continue the search the next day — Monday morning. In the morning, they followed the same track, going some 15 miles and returned to the camp. “They figured that James may have met a road somewhere, and the other members of the hunting party took a vehicle and ‘beat the road,”  said Findlay. He said that at one point, they saw footprints, but of someone walking in a “very strange manner.” “The footprints looked like they were leading up and then down, up and down, repeatedly. We followed the footprints until they disappeared. This was on the edge of the muddy area,” he said.

The party continued the search and encountered a number of fallen trees across the path. On Tuesday, August 31, the search party came across a police station “by the border where Brazilians pass,” the Wismar police. On making enquiries and asking police for assistance, the search party was detained and accused of murdering James. “By then, we had missed our flight back to Trinidad and no communication was possible with anyone outside either,” Findlay recalled. They were kept for two-and-a-half days and the Wismar police eventually went with them to continue the search.

Aftermath

The police told them to take the party to the “original spot.” They told them that a man had been killed nearby about two days before. They presumed that the murderer had gone in the same direction as James. They said he was “barefooted” and a cap was found “stuck to the bush.” Findlay said he had been asked to go along and guide the police, since he was the one who had remained with James. “The police soon became tired and attempts were made by Singh to get the army to assist. The police were told that some of James’s clothing were at Louis’s sister’s home in Georgetown and that tracker dogs could be brought in,” he said. The TT hunting party, Findlay and Emile, paid a visit to the Commissioner of Police and they left Guyana with the matter in the hands of the police who continued the search. “I can’t say this is the end of James. He might be in a mining camp,” Findlay stated hopefully in the document. He said he dreamt that James came to the camp, looking ‘‘fresh’’ and he was wearing a hat.“I don’t know what that means. A funny dream!” Findlay said.

He pointed out that James was a man who used to get lost easily, even in Trinidad and lamented that when he was lost in Guyana, he had only the stick he had sharpened for him, no water, no food, no river nearby. “James was such a good man. The only time I ever saw him vex was with his children,” he said. In his statement, Louis said, what started out as a happy, hunting vacation, turned out to be one of misfortune and trauma. About a month-and-a-half later, relatives are still hopeful that he would be found alive one day. A former US military-trained officer pointed out that in most cases, if the person has not been found within 10 days, the person is presumed dead. Annette told Sunday Newsday that family and friends continue to lobby for help from Guyana until they find  out something about his whereabouts. “Right now, I don’t know what to think. We are not accusing anyone of anything, but we still want answers. They found nothing, no clue, no trace,  and we find this very strange,” she said.

The Mabura Forest

The Mabura area is popular, not only for hunting but gold mining and eco-tourism and sight-seeing as well. It is located in Region 10, close to other mining areas, near Georgetown and Linden and surrounded by the Essequibo and Demerara rivers and hills. Deep in the those forests can be found wild monkeys and baboons, poisonous snakes and jaguars. The Guyanese forests are occupied by the nine Amerindian tribes who are said to be peaceful people. They contribute much to the indigenous culture, including its myths and folktales. Part of the folktale is a spirit of small stature that pelts stones at houses and moves objects within a house. He is supposed to live on banana and milk. Stories abound of the existence of “bacoos” in Georgetown and other areas in Guyana.

They are suspected to have come from Suriname and are said to be trapped in a corked bottle unless released. Active mainly at night, it is said that a satisfied “bacoo” will answer the wishes of its owner. ‘‘Baku’’ in many West African languages means ‘‘little brother’’ or ‘‘short man.’’ It also is related to the word ‘bacucu’ meaning ‘‘banana.’’ In West Africa, the short races (such as the pygmies) were believed to have magical powers. The forest is located close to a number of significant known mineral occurrences and mines such as Omai, Pott Falls and Winter’s Mine. Some areas have been mined or are now being mined for gold on a small scale using land dredges.