Sheila Charles, wife of fisherman Lester Walcott whose body was found floating yesterday near Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, is calling for an investigation into her husband's death. Walcott, a father of three, of Bagatelle Road, Diego Martin, was thrown overboard the Angel of DC on Sunday morning off Trinidad's northwest coast. A release from the Coast Guard on Sunday said the pirogue which was anchored and unlit collided with Interceptor 026. Walcott and two other occupants of the boat were thrown overboard around 12.41 am. The interceptor rescued two men from the water but Walcott went missing.
In an interview yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, Federation Park, Charles said: "I want the Minister of National Security, even the Prime Minister, to step in." She claimed the Coast Guard was negligent in its duties. "They covering up my husband's death and trying to hide plenty things. The Coast Guard have to pay for my husband's death. They are responsible for his death," Charles said. She said she was barely able to identify her husband's body yesterday at Staubles Bay. "His face was bashed in and I could only make him out by his green jumper and orange raincoat," Charles said. She said the pirogue had been well lit at the time of the accident.
"They have lights on all the nets. I heard my husband was trying to flag them down. When they hit the boat my husband pitch straight in the air," she said. Charles claimed Coast Guard personnel told her they were unable to search for her husband in the darkness. "Why they did not search immediately? They told me it was too dark and if we expect them to search for him in the dark waters," Charles said. She said her husband was a master tradesman and fisherman part time. "He is a diver and a good swimmer. They only use flash lights to look for him," Charles said. She said her children were not well since their father's death. She added: "I am depressed and they (Coast Guard) weren't too nice with us. My kids are not eating and they are not sleeping well at night.
"I support my children and I will always be there for them." Michael George, owner of the pirogue, denied claims made by the Coast Guard. "We had lights on the boat and on all the nets, plus it was a full moon that night," George said. George added that the Coast Guard vessel did not have on any lights. "They circled us several times and they were going very fast," George said. He said after the accident several items went missing while the pirogue had been docked at Anchorage. "I am missing a cooler with 50 pounds of fish, a tank of gas and a hose," George said. He said "something was fishy" with the attitude of the officers after the rescue.
