BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RESIDENTS of Half Way Tree yesterday morning (July 22) demonstrated their love and concern for a neighbour after not seeing or hearing from him since the previous night, which was contrary to his daily routine.
According to a female neighbour of taxi operator William Joseph Morton, every working day, a certain male resident of Half Way Tree would be outside of Morton’s home waiting to be driven to his place of work in Old Road Village.
“This morning however, when the man arrived at Morton’s home he did not see him. So he rapped on the door and, not hearing any movement inside, he called him on his cell but did not get through to him. He became worried and alerted the neighbours. We all came out and gathered on Morton’s verandah and called out his name, but we did not get any response from inside,” the neighbour said.
She further stated that the man who Morton normally takes to work decided to call the police at the Sandy Point Police Station, because they all concluded something must have tragically taken place.
“Seeing the bus was still parked on the road and not getting any answer when we called, we all believed that something was wrong with him and he might have been injured or taken ill in the house and cannot move. So we decided that we would force the door open but only in the presence of a police officer, and another neighbour called them at the Sandy Point Station,” she said.
She explained that after the police arrived, they opened the door and searched within the house for Morton but he was not there.
Another neighbour who attends the same church with Morton told this media house that after calling a number of relatives and friends and informing them about the situation, a church member told her that Morton was in the Joseph N France General Hospital.
“When the church member told me that he was in the hospital, I immediately informed the other neighbours, who all breathed a sigh of relief. We are happy that his absence didn’t confirm our fears…because, with all the crime taking place, we thought that someone might have entered his home to rob him and might have injured him,” the neighbour explained.
Commenting on the situation, a senior citizen of the same village said, “This is how we live in Half Way Tree. We are accustomed to see Mr. Morton leave here at a certain hour every day, but this morning was different and we were all worried and concerned about his safety. That is why I preach everyday to these people that politics is here to cause a division amongst us. If I should fall ill, who would be there to help me? Will it be a politician, or will it be a neighbour? Though we may support different political parties, there is only one God and we are our brothers’ keepers; therefore, we have to look out for each other.”
SKNVibes was later told that William Joseph Morton was hospitalised because “his blood pressure was high”.
