Lance Corporal Batson feared drowned

Police are investigating an incident on Tuesday that resulted in the suspected drowning of Lance Corporal Batson, which occurred on the Puruni River, a tributary of the Mazaruni River.

The incident also involved Constable 24612 Quincy Marks and Ransdale Melville, a 30-year-old boat captain from Third Avenue, Bartica, Police say in a report.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the three individuals departed from Puruni Landing at approximately 09:00 hrs on Tuesday in a wooden boat measuring twelve feet in length and three feet in width, powered by a 40-horsepower Yamaha engine.

The boat was en route for a patrol along the Puruni River. Constable Marks was seated in the middle of the boat, unarmed but fully dressed in uniform, while L/Cpl Batson, also in the middle, was armed with one Taurus pistol containing 15 matching rounds and similarly dressed in uniform.

Ransdale Melville was positioned at the rear of the boat, operating the engine.

At about 11:45 hrs, while navigating upstream through a ‘fall,’ the boat’s engine cut off, causing water to enter the vessel and leading to a partial sinking.

As the boat began to sink, Batson jumped into the river. The boat subsequently drifted downstream, prompting Constable Marks and Melville to jump onto a nearby rock to prevent the vessel from being carried away by the current.

They managed to secure the boat by tying it to a branch. At this point, Constable Marks observed L/Cpl Batson holding onto a branch on the opposite side of the river and engaged in a brief conversation with him.

Batson confirmed that he was unharmed and inquired about the status of Constable Marks and Melville, to which Constable Marks responded affirmatively.

While Constable Marks and Melville were bailing water out of the boat to restart the engine, they noticed that Batson was no longer visible. After conducting a brief search and failing to locate him, they proceeded to restart the boat and continued their search efforts. When these efforts proved unsuccessful, Constable Marks and Melville walked to a nearby camp to access Wi-Fi and reported the incident. Following the report, they returned to the river to resume search operations.

Upon receiving the report, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chaitram, Detective Sergeant (D/Sgt) Jonas, and Constable Watts were dispatched to investigate the incident. Further updates on the investigation will be provided.