The ongoing search for Terese Lynch, 43, of Lopinot, was hampered because of a drive-by shooting and murder at Oropune Gardens in Piarco on Thursday.
The search was led by the T&T Fire and Police Services, Lopinot villagers, along with the Hunters Search and Rescue team. It was halted along the Arouca River, near Trincity Mall.
The search was conducted on Wednesday night into yesterday morning. It led to search party operations along the Arima Old Road, Golden Grove Road and then to the Arouca and Oropune rivers.
This is when police officers asked for the search to stop due to the incident at Oropune.
On Wednesday, just after 1 pm, Lynch, a mother of one and brother William Ramlogan, 45, both of La Pastora Village, Lopinot, were trying to cross a ravine near Mc David Trace when she slipped and was carried away by the raging waters, a situation created by adverse overnight weather conditions.
Hunters Search and Rescue captain Vallance Ramabharat told Guardian Media, “We were asked to stand down during the search because there was a shooting in Oropune Gardens and the police said it was an active scene and so they asked us to stand down. However, at about 2.15 pm, we got two calls and sighting of a body floating in the river next to the Trincity Mall.”
He said while there was information coming that a body had been spotted at the river behind Trincity Mall, it did not pan out.
“So what we did was we quickly left where we were, at the Arima Old Road, I came down here to do a thorough search. We met the Fire Services, I don’t know if they also received a call, but we did a comprehensive search of this area. We continue to search this area until maybe nightfall and make our way back to the Arima Old Road,” he said.
Rambaharat appealed to members the public who have been sending information to ensure it was accurate because it can waste their time.
He said, “We look forward to credible information from the public and they’ve got to realise that in the field, when we get calls, we have to leave where we are and go and search that area. It’s unfortunate if we don’t find anything in response to those calls. It throws us off, it throws off our grid, our schedule, everything. So currently, we are making our way back to where we were to continue to search.”
Relatives and villagers are also on hand giving support to the family.
The search is expected to resumes today further down the river.
His team and the authorities managed to complete searches of the Surrey River and Lopinot River from the Arima Old Road to the Priority Bus Route yesterday.