After eight tireless days of searching for two-year-old Angelo Tobias-Plaza, Vallence Rambharat, leader of the Hunters’ Search and Rescue Team, says his group are mentally and physically drained.
The hunters returned to Trinidad on the fast ferry yesterday morning, following police reports of a suspect confessing to killing the toddler on Wednesday.
Angelo was reported missing from his Cambridge Trace, Goodwood home on May 11, triggering a national outcry.
The group had arrived on the island on May 14, immediately taking over the ground operations in a desperate search for the child.
Rambharat said his relentless group helped search the Studley Park landfill, rocky shoreline, bushy terrain and other areas of interest.
He told Guardian Media yesterday their operations in Tobago were the longest-ever for the organisation and it had begun to take an emotional toll on his members.
He said, "Our fitness is still at an optimal level. However, mentally, I thought it necessary for the team to take a break. It has been an emotional rollercoaster...It was taxing us mentally."
He said he noticed it during morning briefings and during evening debriefings with the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
"You get members angry at the fact that a child may have lost his life in this situation. The emotional exhaustion of not locating his body is telling on us mentally," he said.
He said if the team had not departed Tobago, he would have given them the day off yesterday.
"There is something called a crash moment when you keep on going for a long while."
He said the hunters held daily briefings at 7.15 am and then wrapped up their searches late at night before a debriefing.
Rambharat still praised his members for their morale in the face of adversity.
"There has been no flare ups, no grumpiness, nothing on their part — but I could gauge (they needed a break),” he said.
Rambharat said it was also important for members to reconnect with their families.
He said the hunters will respond immediately if they are needed to continue the search.
Psychologist: Nation is traumatised
Children's Authority psychologist Ahhalia Ramdass told Guardian Media yesterday that the tragedy has invoked strong emotions and reopening old wounds left by previous cases involving the death of children in suspicious circumstances.
"It is not the first time that a very young child is in a position where we don't know what happened. There aren't many answers so there is hope, and fear and hope battling each other," Ramdass said.
Ramdass said the incident has challenged people's perceptions about trust and safety.
She said, "It's gonna bring up thoughts and feeling of anxiety about their own children and their safety. We have to also be mindful, historically, we have had so many cases involving young children that still has so many questions hovering around it."
She said people are constantly searching for updates about the situation because they are desperate for some closure.
"It is not unnatural for persons in the wider community who have no affiliation with this child to have this deep emotional experience with this child."
In a close-knit community such as Goodwood, she said the incident could fragment the village as trust has been damaged.
"It's a two-year-old child that something has happened to. Persons in the community would have got accustomed seeing this child on the streets, interacting with the child. It is for the community to band together, support each other," Ramdass said.
She warned people to limit their exposure to information if they begin to feel overwhelmed.
"It may mean they need to tune out just a little bit, it doesn't mean you don't care," she said.
She said people in distress should seek help to better equip themselves with coping skills.
