MARIGOT--Lt. Colonel Sébastien Manzoni said Tuesday no parents or relatives of two missing Antiguan men have come to St. Martin to date to help identify whether the bodies found in Baie Lucas belong to them.
The two bodies washed ashore in more or less the same spot in Baie Lucas, near Oyster Pond, the first on Tuesday, November 13, and the second one on Wednesday, November 14.
A boat in poor condition was also found drifting in the water. Neither body carried any clues for identification. Prosecutor Yves Paillard said at the time that the bodies showed no evidence of criminal intent.
“A police officer from Antigua has brought us a toothbrush from one of the men, so now we are waiting to see if we get a DNA match,” Manzoni explained. “Confirmation of identities is taking a long time because the testing is done in France and because the parents or relatives of these men have not come to St. Martin so far to help identify the bodies.”
An Antiguan news website reported at the time that police in Antigua had confirmed the bodies found in St. Martin were those of Pedro Potter and Ozandee Benjamin, both reported missing. However, Manzoni said that at no time were identities of the two bodies confirmed to Antiguan police.
On another subject, Manzoni confirmed that the large number of armed Gendarmes wearing helmets seen with Dutch-side police in Sandy Ground on Sunday, November 18, was connected to regular patrols on the street against potential drug trafficking, and not to any imminent arrests. He said a show of force was preferred to ensure a neighbourhood remained quiet while Gendarmes went about their work.
