Michael Honore says he always believed his daughter would return home safe, even as her disappearance stretched into days of silence and dread. But on Thursday morning, his worst fears were confirmed when search teams found her dismembered body in a suitcase dumped in a pond in Sangre Grande.
Candace Honore, 22, of Valencia, was last seen on July 8th leaving her workplace at 3:08 p.m. Her phone later went straight to voicemail, and a missing person report was filed at the Manzanilla Police Station.
Speaking to Guardian Media near the site of Thursday’s discovery, her father recalled the moment the search turned into heartbreak.
“Well, really and truly, my whole inside just kind of get, like, lifeless then,” he said.
Honore said he had been searching for days, following leads and speaking with people who may have seen Candace or had information about her whereabouts.
“From there I started, in for a run, to the best of my ability. Until I reached, as I tell you, I reached exactly by the suitcase owner. Last night, I reached by the person who saw the suitcase put in the car. And I was by, I believe it's the suspect, I can't call nobody's name, I don't know.”
He said he did not personally know the man now under suspicion. “I don't even know him as a man, up till this time.”
Honore remembered his daughter as bright, tough and street-smart.
“As far as I know, that was my best daughter because she had an attitude. And I loved the attitude. But the attitude was, I know she was rugged to a point where I wasn't expecting this to happen to her. Because I got the feeling she had more sense. You know what I mean? A little more wisdom.”
He said her disappearance had reminded him of times when she had left home for a few days before returning as usual.
“I was on the better side, feeling good about it, to know we will find she. It was kind of like unbelievable to me... Last time she went for two, three days, she come back home normal, laughing, everything cool.”
The discovery was made shortly after 6:00 a.m. by members of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team. Captain Vallence Rambharat said they arrived in Valencia to continue the search and were conducting foot patrols along Oropouche Road when they spotted something unusual.
“We spotted a large black suitcase about 15 feet into a pond on the right side of the road. We immediately contacted the Valencia Police Station and indicated to them that they should come and take a look at this.”
He said the police then asked them to retrieve the suitcase.
“We did, using our specialised equipment of ropes and hooks, and then they asked us to open the suitcase, which we did. Upon opening the suitcase, what we observed from afar were plastic bags, both black and clear plastic bags, and one of the officers indicated to us that they were able to observe a human hand. They took over from there and we simply retreated to our reserves.”
The body was removed by district medical officers. Police investigations are continuing.
