Basseterre, St. Kitts – COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Celvin ‘CG’ Walwyn has dispelled rumours that the missing teen on Nevis is a victim of foul play.
Speaking with WINN FM’s senior reporter Toni Frederick, Commissioner Walwyn said people need to stop some of the rumours that they are pedalling.
“We need to stop some of these rumours that are going around. I even heard that I’ve been paid off. People don’t know what they are talking about. That’s stupid! People need to be more responsible. We have a young man who is missing…we have a family who is hurting; please, if you know something call us, but don’t call us talking thrash.”
Seventeen-year-old Dylon Clarke of Church Ground, Nevis, according to a police release, was first reported missing on the afternoon of Sunday (Apr. 29) by family members, who stated that he had left home sometime after 2:00 p.m. on the previous day “to go for a walk” and has not returned since.
The release said, “…It was noted that it was not a custom for the young man ‘to sleep out’ so an alarm was raised as early as Saturday evening when he did not return home.”
It also said unconfirmed reports indicated that he was seen in the vicinity of Moon’s Bar in Church Ground up to about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Clarke left his home wearing a yellow Polo shirt, a short jean pants and Nike black and white sandals.
The teen is said to be a witness to a homicide on Nevis and this might have led to the widespread speculation of his disappearance.
Commissioner Walwyn however declared that people in St. Kitts and Nevis like to speak of things of which they have no knowledge, noting that he heard some strange things that the missing lad was a witness to a crime.
“I have learned here in the Federation people speak a lot of stuff they don’t know about. I’ve heard some of those strange things that he was a witness and all that stuff. This young man has already said he was not testifying, so there was no reason for anything like that to happen to him. They are alleging that someone may have caused him misfortune.”
He claimed that Clarke and the individual suspected to be involved in the homicide were very good friends and, “as a matter of fact, that’s one of the reasons why I believe he was not to testify. So, there’s no reason for anybody to suspect that”.
“We don’t have any reason to believe that! If that changes, then shame on me. But right now we have nothing to substantiate the rumours ion the street,” he added.
The Top Cop said they have been searching in many areas on Nevis, including properties and even emptying wells, and that people are making false statement of which they need to be careful with what they are saying.
“We are still searching for him as a missing person case and we are going to keep doing that until something else changes or we have information to believe otherwise. It’s quite possible that he went off into the hills and probably fell. We are hoping that somebody that knows him personally…some of his schoolmates from school. We understand that some of his classmates have had a conversation with him the day before.
“If any of those classmates are out there, please call the police and ask for Assistant Commissioner of Police Robert Liburd and share that information with us. We are doing everything we can to find this young man,” the Commissioner said.
Also in his call to the public, Commissioner Walwyn noted that anything anyone has that they believe the police could follow up on, no matter how minute or how remote, the lawmen want to hear it so they could go and check the lead.
The search for Clarke continues today (May 12).
According to a release from the Nevis Disaster Management Department, this entity, with the support of the police and with the assistance of other agencies and volunteers, would coordinate a search party for the missing teen.
“The search party will assemble at the Disaster Management Office at Long Point at 9:00 a.m. and the search will continue until 5:00 p.m. Persons interested in participating in the search for Dylon are asked to dress appropriately and bring along water and a snack,” the release said.
It noted that the police and Clarke’s family are again making a passionate and sustained plea to the general public for information on his whereabouts.
The family has posted an EC$10 000 reward for information leading to his find and such information can be passed on to the nearest police station or to a family member at 760-8095.
