Teen and Toddler Drown in Separate Tragedies

March 27 2025- Tragedy struck in two separate incidents on March 26, 2025, as a 14-year-old student and a two-year-old child lost their lives in reported drownings at Unity Beach, Mahaica, and the Upper Berbice River.

Emmanuel Downer, a 14-year-old student of Lancaster Secondary School, reportedly drowned at approximately 16:00 hrs while swimming at Unity Beach, Mahaica. Downer, who resided at Lot 50 Haslington Village, East Coast Demerara, had left school with three other students and ventured to the beach.

According to a police report, investigations revealed that the teenagers entered an old freezer and attempted to sail in the Atlantic Ocean. The makeshift flotation device later capsized, and Downer disappeared beneath the water. One of the students contacted Downer’s mother, Elisha Dailey, who reported the incident to the Cove and John Police Station.

A search party was launched, and Downer’s body was discovered approximately 500 meters offshore, lying face-up on a sandbank and entangled in a fishing seine. No visible marks of violence were observed. The body was transported to Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted.

Investigations are ongoing.

In another heartbreaking incident, two-year-old Tauren McLeanon of Kwakwani waterfront drowned in the Upper Berbice River.

According to his mother, 39-year-old Tamika Joaquin, the toddler went to the river at approximately 15:00 hrs to take a bath but disappeared soon after. Upon realizing her son was missing, Joaquin alerted the authorities.

Residents conducted a search of the river and later recovered the child’s lifeless body. McLeanon was transported to the Kwakwani Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by the attending doctor. His body is currently at the hospital’s morgue, pending a post-mortem examination.

Authorities are continuing investigations into both incidents.