5 missing men & canoe found
(CNS): Three West Bay men and two Jamaican nationals who were reported as missing at sea have been found. The men left Grand Cayman on Sunday 19 August in a canoe heading for Jamaica. Police said Friday that the canoe was spotted shortly after 6.00 this morning approximately 150 yards off Frank Sound. The Marine Unit was deployed and the canoe was towed to shore. James Michael Ebanks, Sidney Henry Ebanks and William Miguel Bush and the two Jamaicans who were on board have been transported by ambulance to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town for check-ups.
An RCIPS spokesperson, who said previously that the purpose of the trip had not been established, said this morning that enquiries were ongoing.
On Thursday 23 August, when the men had not returned to Grand Cayman, family members of the three West Bay men raised the alarm and reported the matter to police, which sparked an extensive search for the canoe by RCIPS Air Operations and Marine Units.
Related article:
West Bay men on canoe heading for Jamaica missing
Category: Local News
did you find anything else on board? or was all the "bait" gone? lol. did they catch anything?
For the record they spotted by someone driving past as they were waving their hands off of Lovers Wall, East End.
I'm really glad to hear that hey were found safe.
Hopefully CNS will follow up wth the answers to everyone's questions.
Its amazing how boats of all sizes and origins come in and out of Cayman waters and even when they are reported missing we are unable to detect them until they are 150 yards offshore.
Imagine how many come and go completely undetected….and what they could be carrying??
More effective marine/border patrols are needed.
RCIP shouldnt even think of charging these men for the search and rescue costs.
If after a week of searching you cant find them until they are150 yards from shore where they can practically swim in, they shouldnt expect a bill!
RCIP should consider this operation to be training as it is obvious they need it.
The only sure thing, we will never know
What did they eat and drink this entire time they have been drifting at sea?
I posted about this earlier and got dumped on by "man from foreign" who savaged me because I dared to suggest they did not have the right to put out in a boat (like him or her) and go anywhere they wanted to. The usual American/Canadian/UK stuff about how we must not infringe human rights to do any damn thing so long as there are people to rescue us (at public expense) from our own stupidness or…………….XXXX. I hope the cops check the canoe to make surethey had all the stuff on board that made "man from foreign" think as he sggested they might have just been going to JA for a family visit. Gifts,toys, things you can get here but not Jamaica, clothes for going to church for the family visit "man from foreign" suggested we should consider this canoe trip was all about.
Did they have anything or anyone else with them when they were found? Was it the same Jamaican Nationals in the boat or two different ones? Like some of the other posters to me this is a fishy sounding story and the condition the men were when they were found this morning should easily determine if they have been legitimately drifting at sea for all this time. Or did they come ashore like the ones who apparently jumped off a cruise ship to get here and they werent even wet and already had CI money in their pockets when they landed!!!!!
Where have you guys been?
I missed you…
Did you bring the stuff?
The three Caymanians came back with their names, but the two Jamaicans lost their names. Can someone send the helicopter out to search for their names?
Either them or their relatives who reported them "missing" need to pay for this search and rescue efforts — this sh!t aint free!!
One of the reason why I love the caymanians, they have their time but they are funny as hell. If they ever tell you a joke, you laugh until you weak. @ anonymous I like your comments, "somethign smells fishy but its not what they caught. LOL. Oh dear. Thanks for making my evening.
If these men were perfectly well and safe all along and have not been stranded out in the ocean, then I suggest they should pay for the cost of all the search operations. If they were safe and well I should imagine they would have contacted their relatives however.
Thank God they are alive…bet they won’t try that stunt again……smh..unless the provide a legit reason for this suspicious trip, they should be made to pay or do service for the cost of the search m rescue
They got skills.
Left on a boat to Jamaica, hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, went missing, hmmmmmmmmmmm, full rescue launched by RCIPS, hmmmmmmmmmmm, still missing without a trace, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..
Arrive back in Cayman, hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
RCIPS caught sleeping again. SMH.
HG has landed.
I support the RCIPS's helicopter as every modern police force requires the capabilities that only a helipcopter can provide. My question is though if the marine and air units launched an "extensive search" why did the helicopter not find the canoe when it apparently was drifting just off of Frank Sound? Unless they weren't drifting and managed to motor to Frank Sound then lost their engine. Hmmmmm
Why didn't anyone else see them drifting off Frank Sound, fishermen, dive boats, tourists, drivers from the road. Simple, because they were not there till this morning. Is it just me that thinks something is not right about this whole story? Go missing on a trip to Jamaica and you end up back where you started nearly two weeks later. Can that really happen? i don't think so, it all smells a little fishy, and I don't mean what they caught.
Unless someone was out there watching the sea all night then no they would not have seen them. Diver's don't be out there all night. They could have started drifitng in during the later part of the night.
Commercial dive boats don't often go all the way to Frank Sound at all. Too far east for George Town based shops. Just a bit further west than the East End based shops go typically.
I worked nearly 5 years for a dive shop in EE and we dropped in for a dive in that areas a grand total of 3 times.
How do you know that's not how they were discovered this morning? I live in the area and visit the dock at Frank Sound daily, the last time being last night. I can tell you there was no sign of them then. It would seem likely that they came, or drifted in overnight/this morning. Given that Jamaica is to our East, EE and FS would be the likely place for them to come in after being out at sea for so long.
I think a lot of you are very judgmental and like jumping to conclusions before you know any facts. I am not going to speculate what they were doing, or why they were doing it, or whether the police did a good job or not because I am not in a position to know the facts. Its a shame most of you can't do the same thing until more information is known.
One question will solve the speculation as to the purpose of their trip:
Did they clear immigration prior to leaving?
Accoridng to the other story on CNS, the motive of the trip had yet to be estbalished, which would mean they didn't clear Immigration prior to departure.
I wonder why…..whats that sweet smell in the air?
I drive past the dock several times daily and always look to see what boats are there (I go out in my boat there too). When passing on the road it is very difficult to see anything other than the ramp and walkway and directly out through the channel. Anything over to the East or West side can barely be seen as you drive by, that's why I often pull into the car park to look. The seas out there have been way too rough for fishing this last week or so, and I doubt very much dive boats and tourist would be about in the EE at around 5 in the morning (the missing men reach FS around 6). I can only speculate about this but if their boat got into trouble they would likely have made their way inside the reef to get to FS. Had that been the case you would be unlikely to see them when driving by the dock.
Just like Mr Travis and others got stuck out in the ocean for a long time a while back,. it is entirely possible, especially if their boat encountered difficulties, and bearing in mind the rough weather we have been experiencing this last week or so, for them to take this long to find their way back to Cayman
.
They went on the 19th. Relatives contacted police on the 23rd. Its now the 31st. I doubt (but I could be wrong) the helicopter was still out extensively searching for them more than a week after it was reported, any extensive searching would have taken place for a few days after receiving the missing persons report. It seems they made it back to Cayman first thing this morning. There is no mention in the report as to who spotted them 150 yards from the dock, I am guessing members of the public who recognised the canoe (again I could be wrong) but both marine units and the helicopter were there very quickly.
Are these gentlemen going to cover the cost of the search and rescue efforts?
No my friend we all are going to pay.
Thats what they are for!!! Regardless!!