The body of Edwardo Dominguez, 29, a fisherman of San Andres, Corozal, who was missing at sea since 10:00 Sunday morning after his boat capsized about 4 miles from Sarteneja, was discovered.
Dominguez’s body was found about 9:30 this morning in the Cerro Point area of Corozal, floating about five to six miles from where his boat had capsized. He was retrieved from the sea and taken to the Corozal Town wharf, and was then put in the pan of a police mobile unit and taken to the Corozal Community Hospital’s morgue, where an autopsy was performed. His corpse was then buried at the Corozal Cemetery immediately after the post-mortem, due to the body’s advanced state of decomposition.
Ryan Barahona, 27, a fisherman of San Andres, told police that he and Dominguez embarked from Corozal on a fishing trip in a 23-foot skiff with an outboard engine about 9:00 on Sunday morning, and were travelling to the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve to fish in the area.
Barahona told police that about 4 miles past Sarteneja, they encountered bad weather with heavy rains, thunderstorms and rough seas. He lost control of the boat, and, after a large amount of water seeped into the vessel, it capsized. Two dogs which were with them in the boat were lost at sea, and their bodies have not been found.
Barahona said that Dominguez was not a strong swimmer, and took hold of the cover of the icebox to help him float. He, Barrahona, began to swim the four miles back to Sarteneja to get help — a journey which took him about 3 hours. On his arrival at Sarteneja, he informed the police, who immediately alerted the Coast Guard and the police in Corozal.
Lieutenant Greg Soberanis of the Belize Coast Guard said that they received a missing person at sea report from the Sarteneja police, and immediately responded with a search team to the area. He said that during the search, they took into account many factors, including tide patterns and current flow. Taking these factors into consideration, they plotted coordinates, which indicated the direction of the drift of the body and the area in which it would be found. They then concentrated their search in that area.
The body was found by the Coast Guard after it was spotted in the water by a helicopter that was assisting the search effort.
It was then positively identified as Dominguez’s body by his family members who were waiting on the wharf for the Coast Guard boat.
Dominquez is survived by his mother, Paula Dominquez; his father, Cristiano Cayetano; 4 sisters, 5 brothers, and a number of relatives and friends.