Missing Men Saga -Izum calls on Authorities to up the ante
By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes
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Collin ‘Izum’ Matthew
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – COLLIN ‘Izum’ Matthew is calling on the authorities to up the ante in their search for the two missing men, with the aim of dispelling the many rumours and assumptions.
Speaking with SKNVibes today, Matthew, captain of the vessel in which Keita Williams and Kasim Dula Maynard of Newtown Project had gone fishing and have since been declared missing, said he told members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) all that transpired on that eventful evening and he prays daily that his friends may be found alive.
“After hearing that the police had wanted to speak with me, I called the Basseterre Police Station on the night of Monday, February 25 informing them of my intention. On the following morning, shortly before seven o’clock, I arrived at the station and was interrogated by members of the CID.
“I told them exactly what transpired. There was no reason for me to lie about the incident, even though the police have their own perception. I cannot and will not blame them for their beliefs, because they have their duty to perform. However, I am dissatisfied in the manner with which I was treated,” Matthew said.
Matthew said he was treated like a common criminal instead of an individual who had reported an incident and wanted to see a fruitful outcome.
“After explaining what happened, I was in custody like a common criminal until the following day and I had to sleep on the bench without anything proper to eat. That was a violation of my rights! They took me to the area where I explained the incident occurred, and for many hours they had me back and forth over Frigate Bay.”
Matthew said since the incident occurred he has had many sleepless nights and wishes at times that he didn’t swim to shore after the boat capsized, but had been a victim of the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
“I am being labeled for speaking the truth. The only reason we had gone out to sea was to clear the fish traps…nothing else. Yet people see it differently. Sometimes I wish I had not swam to shore, knowing what people are saying has no truth. Those two men are my bona fides…they are more to me than my father who I have never seen.” ~~Adz:Right~~
Voicing his concern about the families of the two men, Matthew said he had volunteered to join the diving party in search of them, with the aim of finding their bodies in order to bring some degree of peace to their [families] minds and a closure to the issue. “However,” he sadly stressed, “the individual(s) responsible for the diving party did not contact me.”
He was also annoyed with the treatment meted out to him by the Coast Guard on the night when he reported the incident. “The Coast Guard was not hospitable! On arrival at the Coast Guard, I was dripping wet, cold and shivering, but no one saw it wise to offer me something hot to drink or a piece of bedding to keep me warm.”
Matthew, a popular sports personality of East Street, Newtown, had represented his country in both football and golf, and is of the strong view that the Federation does not look out for its people as the Americans do, especially those who had previous encounters with the law.
At about 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, Matthew had reported to the Coast Guard Base that he, Keita Williams and Kasim Dula Maynard went out in a fishing boat, FV LADY SEA, to clear fish traps they had set around the Canoe Bay area in the South East Peninsula.
He explained that a high wave suddenly hit the boat causing it to capsize and the three of them started swimming towards the shore, but he was the only one to make it to safety.
Matthew told SKNVibes that fishing in the Atlantic Ocean is very dangerous, but it is a zone in which fishermen make the best catches. He also explained that the Ocean is very unpredictable, as waves would suddenly emerge from any direction.
“If your boat capsized as what happened to us, you have to be one with the waves, you must be a strong swimmer, and experience is a very valuable factor,” Matthew said.
