Search and recovery efforts for the body of a missing two-year-old in Goodwood were hampered by rough seas on Tuesday.
According to police reports, toddler Angelo Tobias was reported missing by his 22-year-old mother, Kalifah Tobias, around 7:30pm on Monday. An immediate search began but yielded no results.
With the assistance of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, fire officials and the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), the search continued at daybreak on Tuesday.
A CEPEP worker spotted a body in the water at Goodwood Bay before disappearing beneath the surface. The body was spotted a few more times before once again going under.
All attempts to find and retrieve the child’s body were futile due to strong currents and rough sea conditions. TEMA employed the use of drones to search the water from above, but that too was unsuccessful.
Rescue divers attempted to join the search but were forced to abandon the effort due to murky waters and poor visibility.
TTT News was told that with rough seas and strong currents persisting, continued diving operations would be extremely dangerous.
According to Goodwood resident and well-known seafarer Ronny Bastaldo, little else can be done except if the body reappears on the surface or along the shoreline.
“A lot of time passed. The sea does change every three, four hours, five hours, the tides nah, it pull out, it go in. So right now, we just hope for the best.”
Meanwhile, questions were raised as to how little Angelo may have ended up at sea. His home is located down a lonely, tree-covered track, approximately 250 feet away from the shoreline.
Questions about the feasibility of the toddler making it down to the sea by himself were expressed, sparking tensions from family members anxiously waiting for an update on the scene.
However, Mr. Bastaldo says now is not the time to assign blame.
“Nobody can’t carry no feelings on the situation. Once a child involved, it have no who bad, who don’t like who, it not matter, right, it is a child missing and that is the most important thing and right now we just hoping for the best and nobody not supposed to be blamed right now. Is not a blame game.”
Residents will continue to search the shorelines in the hope that they can find little Angelo.