Sascha Wilson
Relatives of 19-year-old Justin Thomas experienced a mix of relief and gut-wrenching sadness yesterday after his body was found two days after he drowned at Sobo Beach in Palo Seco.
Relatives had been praying for closure, and around 8.10 am yesterday, members of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, led by Vallence Rambharat, found Thomas’ body on some rocks near the shoreline, about three miles from where he disappeared on Sunday.
On Sunday, Thomas and his friends were swimming, when they began to experience a strong current in the water. They began to head back to shore, but he began to experience difficulty about 400 feet away and was seen floating. His friends tried to help him, but he disappeared under the water.
Speaking at her Santa Flora home after returning from the scene, Thomas’ mother, Elizabeth, 51, said her son could swim, but she believes he did not realise he was in deep water.
“When he realised that his foot could not touch the ground, he probably panicked or by that time the current done pull him,” she said.
She said Justin was a respectable young man and loved by everyone.
“He was only 19 years old. He always liked welding. He wanted to be a welder,” she said.
Thomas said initially she kept clinging to hope that her son was still alive, but yesterday morning, before she got the news that his body was found, she just knew he was dead.
“I sit down, I cry and talk to God. I real pray. Everybody giving me advice to go by the sea and put your breast, and let me tell you something, God did that for me. That is what I asked him for. I am not going to pray to no ocean. God is in control of that.
“I asked him to let that ocean release my son, and that is how I got my child.”
Thomas said God was keeping her strong.
“God gave me the strength. When I see my son’s body this morning, is something completely different.”
She thanked the search and rescue team and everyone who searched for him and supported them.
Santa Flora police are investigating.
