GEORGETOWN – Following the discovery of the body of missing 11-year-old Adrianna Younge in the pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen yesterday morning, incensed villagers torched the edifice and the residence of the owners as police watched on helplessly and looters carted off goods.
Anger was fuelled yesterday by a police statement the day before that placed the girl outside of the hotel on in a red and black Raum heading towards Vreed-en-Hoop. The police admitted errors in the statement and vowed to investigate them.
President Irfaan Ali later issued a statement promising a full investigation of the circumstances.
“I have asked the Commissioner of Police to assemble a special team to lead the investigation into all the circumstances surrounding 11-year-old Adrianna Younge. We must uncover the full truth of everything that transpired, and no resource or effort will be spared in doing so. “Whatever specialised resources are required to determine every aspect of the events and circumstances will be provided.
“Additionally, I have asked that the police explain, in detail, every action taken since the matter was reported.
“Like the rest of the country, I stand with this family at this time of extreme grief”.
Adrianna was reported missing by her family around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, shortly after they realised she was not among them during what was intended to be a family outing at the East Bank Essequibo hotel’s poolside. The girl, who had recently completed the National Grade Six Assessment and was eagerly awaiting her placement results, never returned to her loved ones.
Efforts by the family to secure help from the hotel’s management in searching for Adrianna were reportedly met with resistance. According to multiple eyewitnesses, hotel owners Bhojnarine Bhola and Maya Sukhraj Bhola allegedly refused the family further access to the building, even as their pleas grew increasingly desperate.
The situation escalated around 10:44 a.m. yesterday [Thursday], when people present at the scene noticed a police officer tossing an unidentified object into the hotel’s pool. The act sparked suspicion and anger among the onlookers, many of whom had been assisting in the search. Moments later, Adrianna’s body was retrieved from the same pool – a discovery that intensified suspicions of foul play.
Witnesses claim the police at the scene were behaving suspiciously, and some alleged that the body only became visible after officials mentioned bringing in sniffer dogs to aid the investigation. This revelation further fuelled speculation among the gathered crowd that Adriana’s body may have been deliberately concealled. (Stabroek News)
