West Bay men on canoe heading for Jamaica missing

| 27/08/2012

Cayman Canoe.jpg(CNS): Three West Bay men and possibly two Jamaican nationals are missing at sea after leaving Grand Cayman on Sunday 19 August in a canoe heading for Jamaica. Police said the purpose of the trip hasnot yet been established. On Thursday 23 August, when the men had not returned to Grand Cayman, family members of James Michael Ebanks, Sidney Henry Ebanks and William Miguel Bush raised the alarm and reported the matter to police, since when the RCIPS Air Operations and Marine Units have been involved in an extensive search for the missing canoe. The RCIPS have made contact with the US Coastguard and Jamaican authorities and informed passing vessels to be on the lookout for the missing vessel.

Police said that two Jamaican nationals may also have been onboard, but this has not yet been confirmed.

The sea and air search has extended from Cayman Brac towards Jamaica. The canoe may have been sighted by the crew of a passing cargo ship late on Wednesday evening (22 August) approximately 17 miles south of Cayman Brac but it has not been established if this sighting was of the missing canoe.

The air and sea search was suspended over the weekend due to worsening weather conditions but resumed this morning.

An RCIPS spokesperson added that the delay in informing the public was down to a number of operational reasons. "On receipt of the report welaunched an extensive air and sea search as well as making partners in other jurisdictions and vessels in the area aware. The decision as to when to release details to the media is an operational matter based on the circumstances and information available at the time,” she said.

    EBANKS James Micheal (216x300).jpg  BUSH William Miquel (254x300).jpg       EBANKS Henry Sidney.jpg

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Has there been any new developments on this news? hope they are found safe.

  2. Anonymous says:

    4 Heavens sake they’re humans 2 just cuz they are Caymanians its a big deal God dnt like Ugly memba dat!!

  3. Anonymous says:

    And do not forget that those that have to go searching at times are in conditions that we would rather stay at home in, and that would be both the police marine and helicopter, regardless of who ends up paying the bill.

  4. Anonymous says:

    “the purpose of the trip has not been confirmed.” hahahaaaa

    The cost for these expensive search and rescue missions should be met by the families not the public. If they don’t register a legit boat trip why should we pay for this nonsense?

  5. peter milburn says:

    I certainly hope that these men are found if for no other reason than peace of mind for their families BUT I must say that this scenario has played out TOO many times in the past and leads one to ask WHY would they venture out in these weather conditions?Surely common sense would tell them to check the weather forecast KNOWING that a possible threat was brewing from now hurricane Isaac.Our prayers are with the families at this time.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Last I checked you are required by Customs / Port Authority to notify them of a trip as far as Little Cayman & The Brac, get a rotation number & clear in at the destination,can anyone clarify is this the correct procedure?

    • Anonymous says:

      08/28/2012 10:14; ha! ha! you are really funny; notify customs! are you serious?  

  7. Anonymous says:

    Good job the UK FCO stopped the sale of the police helicopter eh?

  8. Anonymous says:

    Oh for Heavens sake folks, lets stop pussyfooting around. What do we all think they were going to Jamaica for? Did they take their clothes to check out family and go to church and the Holiday Inn. In a canoe?? And of course you are right, "man from foreign". We will look for them and try to rescue them if they need it. It should be legally mandated that such trips are filed ahead of time so thepurpose can be monitored and the rescue services alerted to be on watch. And if people babble on about thisbeing an infringement of human rights, what about the terrible difficulty it is in Cayman now for us just to open a bloody bank account with all the know your customer stuff etc If you're doing a trip like this which has known suspicions attached to it, if you are innocent there should be no problem.

    • Man From Foreign says:

      And if people babble on about this being an infringement of human rights, what about the terrible difficulty it is in Cayman now for us just to open a bloody bank account with all the know your customer stuff etc If you're doing a trip like this which has known suspicions attached to it, if you are innocent there should be no problem.

       

      I find this comment genuinely offensive. If it's all the same to you; I'd like to keep my freedom to go where I choose in my own boat. That you or anyone else may find my ativities suspicious, is no excuse to impinge on my freedom to travel as I see fit.

       

      The old; "if you are innocent there should be no problem" really gets my dander up though. I am innocent, yet your recommendation is that I be treated as a person guilty of a crime for choosing to go to Jamaica by boat. Charming.

       

      You rail about the procedures you are forced to go through to open a bank account, as if it is an errosion of your freedom or an invasion of your privacy, which it certainly is. Yet you are eager to give up even more freedom, recommending the requirement to register travel with the government and have them monitor your movements? Or is itsimply that you are wanting to give away the freedoms of others? Perhaps you don't think that you will ever travel by boat?

       

      If you are willing to surrender your own freedoms, please feel Free to do so. But I, and I suspect most other thinking people, would much rather keep our freedoms even at the risk of there being a few criminal activities along the way..

      • Anonymous says:

        any vessel heading offshore into international waters is required to notive customs and get "clearance", in doing this they must tell them the vessels next port of call, this is the same for all countries. 

        some countries also require you to notify the local customs dept if moving from one port to another within the country, the USA  being one of them if you are a foriegn flagged boat with non US crew on board.

        so your point of freedom "go where i choose" is wrong, the above standards have been in place for over twenty years, and another thing you dont seem to know is that all commercial  vessels are required to have AIS (automatic identification system) on at all times so they can be tracked on Navy, Coast Gaurd and ports .

      • Anonymuse says:

        You can go where you please however

        1) When crossing international boundaries you have to check out and in via immigration/customs. This isn't personal its just practical/statistical. And fairly universal whether you go by plane, train or boat.

        2) When going far offshore, even within teritorial waters you need to file a 'float plan' with Port Authority. Again, this isn't personal but it helps if (a) people go missing or (b) Customs needs to seperate those they need to check from those they don't.

        A bit of discretion when interpreting what others are saying (and in saying it by the original poster) would help reduce the'trolling' on these message boards.

      • Anonymous says:

        It's an Immigration requirement to file with them if you are leaving Cayman's waters! This comment isn't offensive, it's stating the bloody obvious that people should follow the laws. Do you honestly believe people should be able to leave the country and enter another country without notifying the appropriate Government agencies? What the hell are passports and visas and Immigration controls for if we can just get in a canoe and go wherever we please?

      • Diogenes says:

         If you leave Cayman on a plane you have to clear Immigration.  Why should it be different if you do it by boat than by aeroplane?  Are you saying everyone should be free to enter and leave Cayman as they see fit, and without clearing customs or immigration, as long as they do it in a boat?  Have you seriously thought through the implications of what you are saying, quite apart from the fact that whether you like it or not it is already an offence to leave territorial waters without clearing.   Same law irrespective if you are BIll Gates visiting on a super yacht or someone wanting to go fishing in a canoe. 

      • Kung Fu Iguana says:

        You keep your freedom to go where you want as long as you are able to pay for the costs of looking for you if you get lost.  Or is the community at large entitled to exercise their freedom to leave you to the consequences of your exercise of your freedom?

      • Anonymous says:

        YEH MAN!!!!

  9. Whodatis says:

    On average, how long would it take to reach Jamaica on such a vessel? Also, what would be the most likely point of disembarkation upon arrival?

    • Man From Foreign says:

      It's ~360km(225Mi.) to Montego Bay. Using the vessel in the picture, the one way trip would take from one to two days, depending on the speed that weather permits.

      • Anonymous says:

        the vessel pictured with twin midsized engines is more than capable of running at 20 knots+,   your math on the distance to Mo Bay is right which mean they could do it in just over 11 hours at 20 knots, hence the reason most Canoes  coming and going  don't get spotted as they can run under the cover of night.

      • Whodatis says:

        Thanks.

        I hope they're all eventually found safe and well.

        It is still early days and people have been known to 'float' for longer in these parts before being rescued.

      • Anonymous says:

        8-12 hours weather permitting

    • Anonymous says:

      And here would they clear Customs?

  10. Anonymous says:

    lets be honest… what were they doing going to Jamaica? in a canoe? with the recent weather?

    • Man From Foreign says:

      While I understand the possibility of your insinuation that they were making a drug run, there are several other equally plausible possibilities for the trip.

      They may have been:

      • Going for the adventure of it.
      • Going on a fishing trip.
      • Going to see friends/family.
      • Giving the Jamaican's a lift.

      Being lost as sea(especially during bad weather) gives me a deep and intense sense of dread. It is my hope that these men are found safe, regardless of the reason for their trip, and that the fear and concern of their families will be relieved. I further hope that, should I ever go missing, people who don't know me fromAdam won't cast aspersions.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Multiple Choice Test

    Three Caymanians and two Jamaicans in a "canoe" heading to Jamaica.. They were going 

    1. Fishing 

    2. Pleasure Cruising

    3. Hauling Cargo

    4.Picking up Cargo 

     

    Circle one (okay two if you like)

  12. Anonymous says:

    It's sad when peple get to the point where they no longer have an regard for their lives. This is NOT the 1st time for most of these men named and it saddens me to think mother/children/families have now been left to cope with not only their anxious emotions but also with having to assist in rescue arrangements.

    Hope they are found though. So we the people can blast 'em out about their foolish XXX runs that waste time/money on search missions. Maybe government should implement a rule that no boat plan filed for travel outside 12 mile bank means no rescue offered! It's only fair.

    God bless 'em

    • Erik the Fish says:

      That's the whole point of this little story, it's not what they were up to , but that they simply don't give a dam about their families, or they would be travelling with an EPIRB and we would all be able to find them, but I suspect that is exactly what they don't want!

      As one of the previous posters objected to having to comply with any of the common sense precautions,(such as carrying an EPIRB or Satellite phone)  because it was his right to do and go where he chose, I say….you are also an idiot and your wreckless attitude ultimately endangers to lives of those who are forced to come to rescue you.

      It's about time that legislation was implemented, then when we rescue those who ignore the law, we can stick them in jail (for their own good, if not for drug smuggling)….oops sorry for going fishing in the path of an encroaching hurricane in an open boat.