Missing Fisherman Found Dead at Sea: Family Suspects Foul Play

Randy Gorosica

Today marks one week since a young man left his home in Concepcion Village, messaged his mother informing her that he was going fishing with his father-in-law, as he normally did, and that he’d be back in a couple of days. But he went missing during the fishing expedition and his body was found on Sunday. The police have no information on the matter as yet, but his mother told News Five’s Marion Ali that fisher folks from their surrounding villages have repeatedly come under attack from pirates at sea and she believes that they robbed and killed her son. Here’s that report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

The villagers of Copper Bank are shocked that a young fisherman who set out to sea one week ago, in southern Belize, has ended up dead and they believe that he, like many of the fisher folks from surrounding communities, was the victim of sea piracy and murder. The body of eighteen-year-old Randy Gorosica was discovered on Sunday. His mother, Rosy Gorosica told News Five, via a translator, that her son had been going fishing with a group of fishermen from Sarteneja for the past month without incident. When Randy messaged her last Monday to inform her that he was heading to sea, Gorosica had no idea that would be their last communication.

Rosy Gorosica

Rosy Gorosica, Mother of deceased
“He send me a message saying that he’s leaving and that he loves me and to take care, and I replied to him to take care of himself too because he’s going in the sea and then he left. I wasn’t here, I was taking care of my mom in Belmopan and he only sends texts when he was leaving and when he has come back. So it was normally just texts he sends.”

The police have not released any information as yet on the incident, but Rosy Gorosica says the group normally leaves in a skiff and when they reach their fishing area, they go individually in dories to fish. She is convinced that her son was the victim of sea piracy.

Rosy Gorosica

“At 12 o’clock they have – they seen him fishing with his dory and at two o’clock was the last time they saw him and when they look around they didn’t find, see him anywhere. These persons do arm robbery and this time they – we don’t know if they take away his product. We haven’t seen his body as yet, but what we have heard is that he was found. They say they, it had some bruise. We don’t know because we haven’t seen the body. We’re just waiting for the autopsy.”

Now this mother is preparing to lay her only son, who turned eighteen just two months ago, to rest. She appeals to the police to investigate her son’s death.

Rosy Gorosica

“To other fishermen it had happened before. Investigate more and beyond about what exactly happened to him because this is not the first time that it had happened.”

As we reported, the police have not yet released any information on the incident and the post mortem examination is still pending. Marion Ali for News Five.