At 8.27 am yesterday when Primnath Gokool emerged safe from the Chaguaramas forest, it wasn’t the police nor the army who were praised for their efforts in his recovery.
“I just want to thank the Hunters Search and Rescue Team for rescuing my dad this morning, they worked all night and never gave up,” said Gokool’s relieved daughter as family members wiped away their tears of joy.
Members of the Police Service were on site for the rescue mission, but it was those in camouflage that stood out. Everyday men and women who share a passion for the bush.
It was they who under the guidance of their captain, Vallance Rambharat, mobilised members from all parts of Trinidad within an hour to begin searching the forest along the Bamboo Cathedral Road at 11.30 pm on Sunday. It was they who found Gokool nine hours later.
“We transferred our tracking skills from hunting to searching, last night we used call and response, we use that for our dogs when they’re lost in the forest and the gentleman heard our calls and made his way towards us,” said Rambharat, who added that they all have a keen eye to find recently used pathways and footprints.
Gokool got separated from his family at around 4 pm on Sunday when after reaching the Tracking Station, he decided to walk to the plane crash site. Members of the rescue group documented parts of their mission with one seasoned hunter saying off camera, “real pressure, where the track is you can misplace very easy.”
But thankfully Gokool was said to be in peak physical health despite his age as he is a marathon runner. And he was able to brave the night time conditions until being found by the hunter’s group.
This was their 37th search and rescue mission in the last 12 months. Rambharat said people would often times contact them before even going to the police when a loved one goes missing. He said he believes he knows why his group has steadily been gaining the confidence of the public.
“There exists a gap from when the person goes missing to when they’re found and people feel uncomfortable in that void. Because many don’t know what to do when someone goes missing, they don’t know how to search, who to contact, what resources is needed and we fill that gap.”
Rambharat said there exists a communication issue between the TTPS and the public in missing persons cases.
“Families feel as if the police are not communicating with them and we are able to step in and liaise with the family and we even offer counselling to persons who lose their loved ones.”
Rambharat said it is time law enforcement partners with them so that they too can benefit from their expertise as he graciously accepted a mug of coffee. Something they all seemed keen on getting into their bodies quickly.
“They could go without food in the bush but not their coffee,” said member Ria Lee.
But the Hunters Search and Rescue Group is approaching a grim anniversary. February 2022 will make it one year since the group was formed. At that time last year, the mission was to find a young woman named Andrea Bharatt.
“We all had hope that we were looking for someone who was alive, I think members of the team were not prepared for this situation and it was traumatic. Even for me, I had the opportunity but I never looked at her body, I couldn’t handle it.”
It takes dedication and courage to do what they do. Not all of their stories have a good ending as in the case of Primnath Gokool. But despite the knowledge that at times, discovery and tragedy go hand in hand, they continue to search for people they’ve never met, as if they were their own flesh and blood.