A Sunday afternoon outing by a group of children to a pond at Glasgow Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice, ended in tragedy when seven-year-old Kayden Busey drowned after reportedly leaving home without his mother’s knowledge.
Kayden, a student of All Saints Primary School, was among a group of children who went to a pond in the community between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Police investigations revealed that Kayden and his brother left home with two 13-year-old girls, an eight-year-old and four-year-old boys.
The children reportedly went to swim at the pond, which is about eight feet deep.
According to police, the group was sitting at the edge of the pond when Kayden entered the water, disappeared beneath the surface and never resurfaced. The children reportedly became frightened and ran home without immediately reporting what had happened.
Speaking with this publication, Kayden’s mother, Gaynor Paul, said she was unaware that her son had left the yard and gone to the pond.
Paul explained that she had been feeling unwell and had gone to lie down earlier in the day. It was only after a neighbour alerted her that a child was reportedly missing near the area that she realised Kayden was nowhere to be found.
“I know they were playing in the yard. Me neighbour come, she said she hear somebody missing and she asked where my children, then I realised they weren’t there. I jumped on my bike and went straight to the dam,” she recalled.
Upon arriving, she met two of her younger children and immediately asked about their brother.
“My son told me, ‘He in the water,'” she said. “At the same time, two people jump in, but they say a man go in first but he didn’t see nothing. Then two still go in and they say, ‘man, down here deep,'” she related.
Paul said she could not bring herself to believe he had drowned. Convinced that he may have wandered home, she left the scene and returned to the house, hoping to find him there.
When Kayden was nowhere to be seen, she hurried back to the scene. Shortly after, one of the children indicated where he had disappeared beneath the water. A relative dived into the pond and recovered the boy’s body, confirming the mother’s worst fear.
“My other son said, they said let them do a prank. Them two girls, let them do a prank. And when they do, you know, play like they’re drowning you know, that’s when my son jump in. I don’t know if he jump in for save them or what. And my son said, he try. He said, mommy, I jump in and I try,” she said.
Paul said the tragedy had left her blaming herself for not realising the children had left the yard.
She said she frequently warned her children about going to the Sideline Dam and Six Bridge, a spot that has been the scene of drowning incidents in the past.
Kayden’s body showed no marks of violence. It has since been taken to Persaud Funeral Home, where it awaits a post-mortem examination.
Police investigations are continuing.
