Two forest workers missing from Bissaruni camp; authorities were not immediately notified- Benn

A police search team has been dispatched to the Bissaruni forest area, Kwakwani, Linden, after two workers from the Coomaka concession vanished without a trace on March 1, 2022.

Missing are 23-year-old Tofawa Thomas, a chockerman, and 43-year-old Garfield Cummings, a sawman.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn revealed to the media on Tuesday on the sidelines of an event that it was only on Monday that the authorities were told of the situation, some six days after the fact.

“We were not aware immediately of the situation, but yesterday [Monday] a team from the Joint Services went out to widen the search for those two persons,” he explained.

The Minister said that relatives have been searching for days but thus far, the two men are nowhere to be found.

The News Room spoke to Thomas’ mother, Debra via telephone and she explained that her son went into the Coomaka concession on February 27 with his father and three other crew members.

On the day they disappeared, the woman said her son and Cummings left the camp around 06:00hrs and were expected to return before dark.

His father also left the camp to load cut logs with the other workers and when his team returned, he could not find his son anywhere, Debra explained.

“My husband start searching with the guys up to 11 pm and the next day, they went back in the area to search round and round the concession and they ain’t see them nowhere.

“The next day, they searched again, they go out further to another camp and got more people to help search, but still nothing,” the woman told the News Room.

Debra remains baffled as to what could have possibly happened to her son and Cummings, as she explained Cummings has over 20 years of experience working in the forest.

“He does work bush for years and years so that is why I said he is an experienced person so I do not understand what happened and my son has no experience, he only came up from Georgetown the other day to work with his father,” she continued.

The search efforts are expected to continue throughout the week.