And while there were no murders reported countywide over the long weekend, there were two drowning. The first we'll report on tonight happened on Sunday afternoon, when Denia Zelaya and her common-law-husband, police constable Dion Bellini went for a swim in the river at Bermudian Landing. It was a great day for a swim, but the river has raging currents, and she was pulled under. She never resurfaced and, today, two days later, our news team was there to report on the recovery effort. Here's Alex Courtenay with the story...
Alex Courtenay reporting
As the summer rolls around, many Belizeans find themselves trying to beat the heat at the nearest river. Denia Zelaya, her common-law-husband and a few friends were doing just that on Sunday at a popular swim spot in Bermudian Landing, but the fun didn't last long. Zelaya was standing on a broken cement structure on the river bank when she lost her footing and slipped into the water. The current in the area is notably strong, and quickly pulled her away. Her husband and other bystanders attempted to help, but were unable to get to her in time. The police and Coast Guard quickly arrived on the scene to begin their search.
Petty Officer Tyrone Edwards - Coast Guard Diver
"Well the search started from yesterday, we had personnel here on the ground and today again we, myself and other divers along with the SEAL team - they will conduct the surface swimming and the two of us will do diving. However, as you can see the current is strong and we'll be a recky first in the little boat and then we will decide from where we will start diving and it all depends on the current and the visibility under the water."
Because of the strong current in the area and the high concentration of vegetation on the river bank, the search team had some trouble determining the best place to begin.
Petty Officer Tyrone Edwards - Coast Guard Diver
"There is a high possibility that the body drifted down or if not, it is hooked up under some branch or broken trees or limbs under the water, but more than likely with the current, the body..."
The police and Coast Guard were also joined by locals who are familiar with the water. And it's that familiarity that led to the retrieval of Zelaya's body just under 48 hours after she went under…
ASP Juanito Cocom - Deputy OC, Eastern Rural Division
"Since yesterday the Coast Guard and some villagers, some divers were in the river trying to locate the body, which was found about an hour and a half ago. The body was found about 3 miles away from the Bermudian Landing bridge."
Petty Officer Tyrone Edwards - Coast Guard Diver
"When we departed from this area, we picked up a resident of the area and he told us why shouldn't we go downstream a good ways before we start diving, because he said he was here with the diving crowd yesterday and they took a dive in this whole area. So he said probably with the current and stuff it might go further down. So we decided to go in the 2 boats and just recky all the way down and we arrived at the bridge and we decided to go further from the bridge and that was when going further down, we noticed what suspected to the body and then we approached it and then we confirmed that it was the body."
As the summer continues on and the days become hotter and hotter, river goers are urged to stay vigilant and remember not to take currents lightly.
Petty Officer Tyrone Edwards - Coast Guard Diver
"From my experience, actually rivers is very dangerous, especially if they have currents and after a flood a lot of broken debris get caught up and some people maybe just come and swim and they don't really inspect the water. But you got to be safety conscious whenever swimming in rivers. At least in the sea you could more likely see the bottom quickly and stuff, but in the rivers especially with the currents it's dangerous and if you have someone who can't swim good, that's when the panic kicks in and the current takes you."
Zelaya is a naturalized Belizean, and is originally from Honduras where the rest of her family lives.
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