Police are investigating reports that three Anna Regina Multilateral schoolgirls who vanished on Monday might have gone to neighbouring Venezuela with a male acquaintance.
A release from the police yesterday said they were investigating the missing trio's whereabouts and that the mother of one of the missing girls had reported the matter on Wednesday, indicating that they may have gone to the neighbouring republic where the father of one of the girls resides.
Searches for the girls in the area intensified yesterday.
According to reports, Mariel Williams, 16, of Queenstown; Chelesea Jagdeo, 14, of Hampton Court and Malinie Naipaul, 14, of Better Hope, all villages on the Essequibo Coast left for school on Monday, but did not return home that afternoon. But their disappearance was not reported until Wednesday when word spread around the area that three schoolgirls were allegedly seen boarding a speedboat in the Pomeroon River.
The three girls said to be cousins, allegedly sought the assistance of the son of a prominent Pomeroon River speedboat owner and headed for Venezuela after spending a night hiding out in an abandoned house in the lower Pomeroon River.
Police on the Essequibo Coast, after being informed of the girls' disappearance reportedly detained the son of a well-known Pomeroon resident in whose company they were last seen on Monday.
Contacted yesterday headmaster of the school, Parmeshwar Lall confirmed that the trio attended classes on Monday morning, but left during the morning session and had not been seen since.
It is believed that the girls were at a popular Charity nightspot on Monday night in the company of several known males.
When Stabroek News visited the community yesterday there was much discussion about their disappearance.
Speaking with this newspaper at her Grant Hunter's Delight, Upper Pomeroon home, Chelesea's mother Camela Jagdeo was at a loss for answers as to why her eldest child had taken off.
According to the woman she had accompanied her daughter to school on Monday at the invitation of a teacher after a request for her presence was made to clarify some matters concerning a school pageant Chelesea was expected to take part in today.
After she had completed her discussions and was leaving the school's premises shortly before 1000 hrs, she realised that the three girls were leaving behind her. She questioned their motives and was assured that they were heading to Chelesea's grandmother's Hampton Court home - where Chelesea resided -- to collect some outfits for the pageant.
Not thinking that the girls were up to anything, she returned to her Pomeroon home where she remained until briefly visiting the Charity wharf area after having being told by her husband that her daughter was seen boarding a boat.
Early Monday afternoon, Jagdeo's husband and Chelesea's stepfather Ravi Prashad, had returned home and informed his wife that he had seen the girl along with two others, boarding a speedboat piloted by a male.
According to Prashad, he had seen the girls at Charity during school hours and wondered why they were there, especially since they were not dressed in uniforms but in jeans and tops instead. Noticing that they were acting suspiciously, he decided to tril them and descended upon the group as they were about to enter a boat for "a spin in the river."
On enquiring from Chelesea about her movements, the girl told him that her mother knew that she was out of school.
He then boarded a boat and headed for home where he related what he had seen to the girl's mother. After checking at Charity to verify her husband's revelations, Jagdeo thought that he might have been mistaken or that the girl had returned to her grandmother's home. It was not until Mariel's mother Norma Williams from Queenstown visited her on Wednesday enquiring about her daughter's whereabouts that she realised something was wrong.
According to Jagdeo she had enquired about her daughter's whereabouts from the boat owner but was told that he had not seen the girls. However, she claimed that she had been given information that the girls had been seen at the boat owner's Pomeroon home and had even prepared meals there.
A report was then made to the police at Charity, who detained for questioning another son of the boat owner in whose company the three young females were seen on Monday.
According to Jagdeo, radio contact was made with persons at the border post of Belvista, and it was related that the girls arrived there on Wednesday evening and were to head for the town of Barancas some time yesterday.
Jagdeo said Chelesea's had given no indication that she intended to run away nor was she known to have any problems at home.
Neighbours in the Hampton Court village close to where the girl's grandmother resided told this newspaper that they saw when the three girls arrived at the home and later departed in a minibus in the direction of Charity, with bags, shortly after 3:30 pm on Monday.
According to one resident, she had related the movements to the girl's grandmother upon her return from work that evening and was told that the child had gone to her mother at Charity. Chelesea, it was said, had packed all of her belongings including jewellery before leaving her grandmother's home where she had resided since her return from neighbouring Venezuela as a baby.
Her father, several aunts and uncles are said to be residing in the neighbouring republic. Her mother had taken her to visit with them last year July.
Williams' mother Norma was equally puzzled as to why her 16-year-old daughter would have run off.
According to the visibly shaken woman, her daughter had departed for school on Monday morning at round 0745 hrs and never returned.
When she did not return that evening, the mother said, she began to worry because her daughter had never slept away from home. But she thought that she might have experienced difficulties travelling from at Anna Regina after practicing for the pageant and decided to spend a night at a friend.
The next afternoon, Williams said, she decided to go to her daughter's school only to be told by one of her classmates that she had not been to classes that day. She immediately proceeded to Hampton Court to Chelesea's grandmother to Enquirer whether she was there. She was told that the girls were in Charity at Chelesea's mother.
Because of the late hour and the unavailability of transportation, she returned home, but left early the following morning (Wednesday) in search of her daughter only to be told that they had gone to Venezuela.
According to Williams, her daughter was in the fifth year and preparing to write the CXC examinations for which she had already paid. Chelesea, the woman stated, is her mother's nephew's child, and had visited her home on several occasions, therefore she was too worried when first told that Mariel was with her.
Efforts to contact relatives of Naipaul yesterday proved futile.
Meanwhile, Chelesea's stepfather questioned the absence of a security guard at the Anna Regina school, since the girls were able to leave the premises while school was in session. He only confirmed that they were missing when he returned to the coast from the city on Thursday, and was told by the driver of the minibus transporting him that the trio had absconded to Venezuela.
Chelesea, who was previously was resident in the school's dormitory was moved to her grandmother's home at Hampton Court at the end of the last term after she complained of experiencing difficulties with school authorities to gain permission to visit her mother at weekends.