Exuma Father Led Search for Missing Son

Advertisement

EXUMA, BAHAMAS – The search for 23-year-old Andrew Sears Jr. began Tuesday afternoon after police in Exuma received a report shortly after 3:30PM that a man who was being electronically monitored was in distress.

Officers quickly spread out across the Barratarre community, searching for any sign of the young man, but as the hours passed, they came up empty.

By Wednesday, the search had expanded.

Specialist officers from New Providence joined the effort, bringing drones, canine support services, and members of the electronic monitoring unit to help comb the area.

Our News obtained video footage of that search.

The search eventually led investigators to Madam Dau’s Cay, where just before 2PM on Wednesday afternoon, they found the 23-year-old’s body lying in shallow water.

For his father who had been searching alongside police, the moment was devastating.

Andrew Sears Sr. – Father

“I saw him. I was like my heart come full, I had to release that pressure. I was like jah, it was a blow.”

Police say Sears Jr. was found wearing a maroon button-up shirt, shorts, and was barefoot.

Investigators also noted what appeared to be blood around his ear and nose, along with minor abrasions to his hands and legs.

A local doctor later examined him at the scene and pronounced him dead.

While police continue to work to determine exactly what happened, his father says he doesn’t want his son to be defined by the investigation, but by the person he was every day.

Andrew Sears Sr. – Father

“He wasn’t no troublesome person. Like I said he was a happy going partying person. He was person you seen the joy in him, you never see him with a sad face.”

As his family waits for answers, an autopsy will be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.