Tobago Correspondent
Relatives of twenty-four-year-old state witness Ismail Roberts have given up hope that he is still alive since his disappearance in Scarborough on February 28.
His relatives reported him missing to Shirvan Police on March 1, and all search attempts and public pleas for his safe return were futile.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, his father, Dave Raphael, said the family has accepted the possibility that he is dead, because of the length of time he has gone without insulin for his diabetes.
He said, “All we need is to get his body so we can put him to rest and let us move on with our lives. We can’t bring him back alive. We are just pleading with them.
“We know whoever has him won’t take the chance to get insulin for him.
“He needs the insulin, and we know he hasn’t gotten it. This is why we know he’s no more. His mother has dreams and is paranoid. We just want closure.”
He still believes his son’s disappearance is linked to the 2017 murder he witnessed.
He further claimed that the State failed to protect Roberts, even after multiple threats to his life.
“People are afraid to say the security cameras are not working and they can’t get footage. God is good. We put the matter in God’s hands. No human resources can help us.”
Raphael said that the family’s only hope rested solely on CCTV footage from the surveillance cameras in the area where Roberts was last seen, but none of them were functional.