Last night, we told you about the search for 7 year-old Chelsie Smith, the child who was presumed to have drowned in Isabella Bank on Sunday. Well, after 2 days of gnawing uncertainty, her body was recovered from the Belize River this morning, quite a distance away from the area she went under.
It is the confirmation of the worst news for the family, who must now find closure in her burial. We went back to Isabella Bank today, where we got a chance to speak with Chelsie's family. Here's what they told us about how the body was discovered today:
Carol Leslie - Family Friend
"We found the body approximately 10:10am, after the boat was driving slow - we had about six of us in the boat, we were looking both ways and the driver saw something on the edge by the bushes and he turned around and we went back. While getting a closer view, we saw that it was baby Chelsie in the water. Her hand was hooked on one of the tree limbs and underneath the tree and when we went closer that is when we identified that it was her."
ASP Chris Noble - Rural Executive Officer
"The location I would not be able to give to you. I don't have any GPS on it but it is about a half a mile before Flower's Bank - that is all I can tell you about it."
Christopher Smith - Father of Deceased
"Relief - that finally we can put this ordeal behind us, I don't know where I'll go from here. I'm just glad that I found my daughter and that I'll be able to bury her and try to find some peace in that. Thing about my daughter is that she was a very happy child, always smiling, always happy - whenever she took pictures - she always positioned herself like a model. The time I had with my daughter, I will always cherish that and I thank God for the seven years."
ASP Chris Noble
"Be cognizant of your surroundings - it doesn't matter if you live on the river bank or you come to the river bank. Wherever there is a water way - be cognizant of it, be cautious of the person's in the water and we ask that everybody look out for the children; if you see a child in the water, try to get the attention of the parent - if you see a child going under, that would be room for concern. At this stage we cannot say if there was negligence, we cannot say anything - we're compiling and we'll look into it and we'll have the investigation reveal just that. We may involve other agencies but my appeal is to have a heart and look out - they are only kids and they would not know better."
The family told us today that they are very grateful for the members of the community who helped in the search for Chelsie's body. When we left Isabella Bank this afternoon, funeral arrangements were being made for her burial, which had to be done immediately due to the advanced state of decomposition.
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