JAN 31

What begun as a fun filled beach picnic for the Simon family of Vincennes in St. David's last Sunday ended in tragedy at the Palmiste Beach in St. John's as two brothers lost their lives in a drowning incident.

Dead are 17 year old Garfield Simon and his brother 15 year old Kenny. The Simons' were spending the weekend at Mt. Granby with relatives and they decided to go to the beach for a swim. The youngsters were in the company of their mother and other close relatives from Mt. Granby in St. John's when Garfield encountered some difficulties and disappeared while surfing a few waves.

An official police report said that a witness to the incident indicated that at about 3:15 p.m, she and the Simons' were about to leave the water when Garfield saw a wave and jumped it. According to the eyewitness, a few seconds later she saw Garfield struggling in the water and his younger brother Kenny decided to go to his assistance. "Garfield pulled him under the water and I did not see them again", she said, adding that a move was made to seek assistance from persons in the nearby village.

An immediate search of the water was conducted by fishermen from Gouyave and Grand Roy. A few minutes later Kenny's body was found. He was taken to the St. George's General Hospital where an examination was performed. He was pronounced dead by a medical doctor.
An extensive search continued in the water for the other brother but with the falling of the night, the fishermen decided to call off the search.

Some of the fishermen who were part of the search party complained to GRENADA TODAY about the performance of the Coast Guard personnel who showed up to help in the rescue operation. The fishermen lamented that the Coast Guard officials seemed unprepared for the task and lacked the necessary equipment needed for the exercise.

The search for the missing body continued on Monday and Tuesday mainly by fishermen of the area and the local coast guard in the waters around Palmiste. It was reported that sometime between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m on Tuesday that Garfield's body was discovered floating in the vicinity of the Grand Roy Bay.

The Police were immediately contacted. The body had begun to decompose. It was fished out of the water by officers on board the Coast Guard and taken to St. George's where it was examined by a medical doctor.