Mayaro fisherman Renaldo “Justin” Morales, 25, who went missing last week, has been found dead.
Morales’ body was found by T&T Coast Guard officers during a search for him on Sunday at about 11.22 am.
The body was positively identified by Morales’ mother through a tattoo of her name, “Helana,” on the left side of the chest.
According to a police report, at about 11.22 am, Lieutenant Robinson and a team of T&T Coast Guard officers were on patrol aboard the CG 28 TTS Carli Bay, south of the Manzanilla area, when they saw a body floating approximately 5.5 nautical miles southeast of the Manzanilla Fishing Port. The body was retrieved by the officers and taken to Port Galeota, Galeota Point, Guayaguayare.
Insp Ramkissoon and a party of officers from the Mayaro CID and Task Force and a district medical officer responded.
The district medical officer examined the body and ordered its removal to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, for an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.
Morales, of Maloney Road, Mayaro, was last seen last week Thursday pulling in a fishing net. He was in a 28-foot pirogue named “Righteous.”
Morales left the Guayaguayare Fishing Port on Wednesday between 4 pm and 5 pm to go fishing and was expected to return the following morning. He was never seen since and a search was subsequently launched by the Coast Guard and fellow fishermen.