Tragedy struck in Ciceron, Castries, on Wednesday, when the body of seven-year-old Nehki Poleon was discovered in a river.
Nehki’s family had posted a missing person’s report on Facebook the day before.
The boy’s father, William Poleon, said he was devastated and confused over the tragedy.
William, who has been a single parent since Nehki was a preschooler, detailed his desperate search for his son since Monday.
He explained that being a bit older, Nehki had been walking home with friends after school and usually stayed at home or played in the yard until his father returned from work.
William said when he arrived home on Monday, he noticed Nehki was missing when he didn’t open the door when he called.
The father recalled searching the house and noticing that Nehki had changed clothes and left.
William recounted desperately canvassing the neighbourhood and even checking the pig pen where Nehki often played with his cousin, but found no sign of his son.
As a result, he reported the child’s disappearance to the police.
However, William said he learned that a missing child report could only be filed after 24 hours.
Nevertheless, he continued searching.
On Wednesday, William and the search party took a walk along the river near the pig pen Nehki frequently visited. That was where William discovered Nehki’s slippers. The river, known for its depth, heightened his fears.
In a heart-wrenching turn of events, William told St. Lucia Times his friend decided to dive into the river and emerged with Nehki’s body.
“After about 10 minutes, I see my friend come up and bring Nehki for me,” the heart-broken father stated.
William said he collapsed to his knees upon the discovery.
“I never expect Nehki to come out from that water, somewhere else but not in that water,” he said.
The single father suspects that Nehki might have fallen into the river while trying to retrieve his phone, leading to the child’s tragic demise.
“Nehki was my everything” the father said, struggling to come to terms with the loss.
He lamented that despite having two other children, Nehki was the only one who lived with him, and their bond was incredibly special.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon to determine the exact cause of Nehki’s death.
