High school student, Rudyford Thompson Jr., drowns in river

rudyford thompson jr

Just before five this evening the Cayo Emergency Response Team, B.D.F. and Coastguard interrupted a rescue mission in the Old Belize River. The search will continue on Tuesday for a student from Gwen Lizarraga High School, Rudyford Thompson Jr.  Thompson and three friends went swimming in the River on Sunday afternoon but the strong currents swept him away even though he is known as a strong swimmer. His friends tried to help but could not save the young man. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports from Camalote.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

Four friends from Camalote Village headed down to the Old Belize River for an afternoon swim on Sunday, but only three of them made it back. Lisa Miranda Palacio, the mother of seventeen year old Rudyford Thompson Junior, said she knew there was bad news when her son’s friend arrived at her home.

Lisa Miranda Palacio, Mother

“Yesterday about between two-thirty, three-thirty a friend of Rudy came running. As I saw him I knew something was wrong; he had a frightened look on his face. So I told him please don’t tell me something is wrong with my baby. He seh yes, Miss Lisa ih drown. I just start screaming.”

One of Thompson’s friends tried to save him, but when he too was almost overpowered by the currents, he had to let go to save himself.

Lisa Miranda Palacio

“They said that they swam across the river and when they reached the banks or almost reach the banks—he didn’t make any noise or anything. But then when he made one little sound then they knew something was wrong. One of them was swimming with him; they took him around the waist and was swimming with one hand but the current was strong and it was pulling him under so he had to let go.”

The Police, B.D.F., Coast Guard and the Cayo Emergency Response Team were assisted by residents of Camalote Village, for an all out search to recover the body.

william swan

William Swan, Head of Cayo Emergency Response Team

“Right now we’re doing an assessment of the river and we will send divers in the river in a short while to go and see if we can relocate the body that went down yesterday.”

Delahnie Bain

“Do you have an idea as yet of what area of the river he is?”

William Swan

“According to the person that was along with him, he was one the nearly the edge of the bank so we will do some search, comb the bank for a couple distance and then we will try to set up a cut off in the Banana Bank area in case the body is still moving.”

Lisa Miranda Palacio

lisa miranda palacio

“He have friends who were on the river from this morning about eight in two dories and then we just got another boat about ten from Banana Bank.”

Thompson and his friends were known to be good swimmers and often spent their free time down at the river. So what cause the teen’s untimely demise?

Lisa Miranda Palacio

“He’s a very good swimmer. He usually swims across the river. I don’t know what went wrong. He’s very healthy, he exercises, he runs every day.”

Delahnie Bain

“Do you know if perhaps the river was higher than usual or stronger than usual?”

Lisa Miranda Palacio

“It was, it was so I guess he just couldn’t handle it or he ketch cramp or something like that.”

William Swan

“I think it’s due to he ketch cramp but if the river wasn’t like this I think it still would have been possible for him to save himself or the two colleagues could have more handled him. The current is moving, as you can see, pretty fast at this moment because it’s a flooded river at the moment due to the lot of rain in the past weekend.”

According to Thompson’s mother, Lisa Miranda Palacio, Sunday was the first time her son left home without letting her know where he was going.

Lisa Miranda Palacio

“He’s quiet, he doesn’t usually go anywhere. He’s the one child that sticks to me so it’s surprising that he went without saying where he’s going. He usually does and I have a rule that you have to ask each time you need to go out, even the nineteen year old. He has to say where he’s going and they have to ask permission and this time he didn’t. Even the guys he was with they know that he has to ask permission so they said they asked him if he asked his mother and he tell dehn yeah mein I done ask. But he didn’t.”

Both Thompson’s friends and family are grieving the loss, but say they are now hoping to find his body so that he can be properly laid to rest and they can have closure. Delahnie Bain for News Five.