‘I will search until I find him’ | Residents rally behind brother of missing landscaper
A major search is underway for 50-year-old Jamaican landscaper Junior Peters who mysteriously went missing a week ago.
With the help of the Jamaican association and other residents here in the BVI, his brother Direau Ricketts has been scouring several communities across Tortola and said he has no intention of relenting.
“I intend to search until I find him. I have to find something. We haven’t told our mom as yet, and that’s why I am eager to find something so when we go to her to tell her, we just want to tell her something positive when we talk to her,” Ricketts told BVI News during a search party on Thursday, July 2.
“We have searched the immediate area where the incident happened, and we haven’t found him there, so we are going to widen the search across the BVI … We are going above McNamara, across Joe’s Hill, and back to Sea Cows Bay. Yesterday (Wednesday), we did Trunk Bay and Brewers Bay and Beef Island,” he further told our news centre.
Rickets, the owner of Dareo’s Jerk Centre in Road Town, said he last saw his brother having lunch at the establishment last Friday.
One day later, Peters — who is a landscaper at Government House where the governor resides — went to prune a tree at a residence in Horse Path and was never seen again.
Mysterious
Peters’ disappearance has been described as a mystery by many who joined the search on Thursday afternoon.
“To me, somebody hurt him,” a woman opined.
“Apparently he did not get a chance to do nothing at all,” another woman surmised after looking at the untouched tree that was supposed to be pruned.
Police report
A police press release issued on Thursday said Peters was last seen around 4 pm on Saturday, June 27 at Horse Path.
“His disappearance is out of character, and there is a serious concern for his welfare,” the Royal Virgin Islands Poice Force (RVIPF) said in the release.
Witnesses reported seeing Peters sitting on a large rock just outside of the residence.
“The next day the victim’s tools/machine used for landscaping was met in the same location as the day before. On Monday the tools were seen in the same location along with the pruned vegetation which drew the suspicion of tenants of the said building. This prompted an immediate search of the area where personal effects of Mr Peters were found,” it continued.
What appeared to be a bloodstain was also found on the concrete dead-end road and on a wall near where he was last seen.
Search by law enforcement and service workers
The days that have followed have involved several searches around the Horse Path residence by Police, Fire, Virgin Islands Search and Rescue (VISAR), Governor’s Office, Search and cadaver dogs and volunteers, but those efforts have proved futile.
House-to-house enquires were also conducted in the surrounding neighbourhood but to date have yielded no results.
Anyone with information relating to this matter is asked to call Detective Inspector Vernon Larocque directly on 284-368-9809 or the Major Crime Investigation Team on 284-368-5682.
“Police are also asking for anyone residing in the general area of Z-King Radio Station to check around their premises to see if Mr Peters would have sought shelter on their property based on a possible injury. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence,” the release added.
Peters a father of two
Peters has been described as a ‘quiet, peaceful and loving’ man who has called the BVI home since 2006.
He is married with two children. His son resides in the territory, but his wife and daughter live in Jamaica.
Ricketts said his family “are very much distraught about what happened”.
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I hope you are safe, you are one of the most positive people I have come across – may the lord protect you.
Sooooo was it blood or not?
Government/DDM put a TSAR (Terrestrial Search And Rescue) team together, paid (ppl & training I think) with public funds. VISAR is volunteer based and was there. What about DDM’s TSAR???
Check if he had an affair with a woman in the apartment and the angry significant other came and handle business
Tenants? Hmmmm What they need to look at is who does not want the tree to be cut . Some tenants operate as if they owned where they live. Second he was hit by someone, looks like they panic picked him up and took him some where and dumped him. They need to look at all the tenant vehicles and trace where they were last seen in the country during this period. They need to check each vehicle for stains or remnants. Some try to use clorox to clean blood.
Oh Lord! Please please I beg you lord please let him be found. This is gut wrenching
Please don’t take my comment as anything strange but, how can a person just disappear off the face of the earth like that? Was it foul play? Even if the police don’t have his cell phone there should be a way to access his cell phone records. He must have left the job to meet up with someone or he was lured away. No one would walk away and leave their work gear like that. Another thing, more than likely, he knows whomever lure him away.
But I believe and feel someone did something to the man. Someone knows something. I hope the someone is not out here with his family and friends pretending to help in the search knowing what they did. They often say, when a crime is committed the person responsible be right up in the mix acting like they are concern mean while looking for info so they can stay ahead of what is going on. To his family, I am sorry that you have to go through what you are going through.
since a little boy going dareos from way up by rhymer till now I’ve known these people and is just love alone….I remember when he came his vibes was just different….he would always hail me up n take care of me when ever i came to dareos..I will miss the way how you always walk and it don’t bother you I will miss how you hail me up n treat me every time we saw each other….watery eyes yawdyyyyyy….
My sincere condolence to you and family. Junior was such a quiet person.
It’s sad tho his body was already found dead.