[UPDATED] Bodies of Arima cousins found in Sea Lots

THE bodies of two Arima cousins, who went missing on September 14, were found in a mangrove in Sea Lots late on the evening of September 15.

Relatives of 18-year-old Rykeel Dookna and 21-year-old Rikeil Cumberbatch identified their bodies at the Forensic Science Centre, St James on the morning of September 16.

Dookna and Cumberbatch were reported missing to the Arima Police Station on September 14.

A release from the police on September 15 said both men were last seen around 2 am as they left Dookna’s home in a dark blue Mazda 3 (PDY 5115), driven by Cumberbatch.

The Mazda was found in some bushes in Blanchisseuse, Arima.

Late on September 15 two bodies were found in a mangrove in Pioneer Drive, Sea Lots.

The families of Dookna and Cumberbatch spoke to the media after identifying the bodies at the Forensic Science Complex, St James on September 16. They asked to remain anonymous.

A female relative described Cumberbatch as a regular young man.

“He was a quiet person. He liked partying and dressing up.”

Another female relative said she last saw and spoke to Cumberbatch on Friday (September 13) around 10 pm. She said Cumberbatch was liming in the village when a friend called and invited him to a party.

“He would go and lime and come back and I would call him in the morning as soon as I wake up.”

She said it was normal for Cumberbatch to go out liming and he did not express any concerns for his safety before leaving.

The female relative said she began panicking when she tried to contact Cumberbatch the next morning, but he did not answer.

“Once I wake up and he not there, I would call him and he would say, ‘I coming now,’ and he is not a person to leave off his phone.

“I kept calling, calling and realise something going on. If his phone go off he’d put his phone to charge within half-hour to an hour to make sure that I call to say, ‘I coming; I almost there.’

“He’s not a person to ignore my call.”

When asked how she felt having to identify Cumberbatch’s body, the relative said, “Is just like someone take out my heart and just…I still feeling like if I dreaming.”

She said Cumberbatch was the eldest of three children and worked off and on in the construction industry.

She said the whole family was shocked at his death.

She described the crime situation as “unbearable and ridiculous.”

“Sometimes you just go out there and you not looking for no trouble and you is not no troublemaker and you not doing nothing, but they see something you have on, some gold, some clothes and they feel you have it all and they take you for that.

“The way the country going, is like anybody can get it.”

The relative thanked the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, whom she described as helpful throughout the situation.

A female relative of Dookna said he was the baby of the family. Dookna, 18, was the youngest of four children and the “favourite and spoilt child” in the family.

She said Dookna recently graduated from El Dorado West Secondary and was “highly skilled with his hands.

“You can give him a power saw to cut down a coconut tree – he can do that; you tell him the car not starting – he could do that; you tell him to fix the deck in the car –  he could do that; you tell him build a cupboard – he can do that.”

She said Dookna learned how to fix cars at the age of 14 and owned two cars before he was 18. He also had his own business, Ninko Car Wash.

The female relative said Dookna may have been caught up with the wrong company.

“You see when you trust people and you trust them to a certain extent…

“Dookna and them is a different generation and they does get caught up and feel everybody is they friend. Not everybody is your friend and not all skin teeth is laugh.”

A male relative said Dookna told him around 11 pm on September 13 that he was going to a party in south Trinidad with friends.

“I talk to him and telling he, ‘Boy, you have to cool down on what you doing, you liming with the wrong crowd.’

“He telling me, ‘(Name called), just now I going to lock (them) off.'”

That was the last conversation the male relative had with Dookna.

The female relative urged parents to hold on to their children.

“If they vex, hold on to them. If you tell them they not going (somewhere), don’t feel sorry for them and say, ‘Go.’

“Our time was different to what they experiencing now.”

This story has been updated to include additional details. Please see the original story with the headline ‘Arima cousins’ bodies found in Sea Lots’ below.

THE bodies of two Arima cousins, who had been reported missing on September 14, were found in a mangrove in Sea Lots late on September 15.

Female relatives of 18-year-old Rykeel Dookna and 21-year-old Rikeil Cumberbatch identified their bodies at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on September 16.

Dookna and Cumberbatch were reported missing to the Arima Police Station on September 14.

Both men were last seen around 2 am as they left Dookna’s home in a dark blue Mazda 3, driven by Cumberbatch.

The Mazda was found in some bushes in Blanchisseusse, Arima.

This is a developing story.

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