The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A FAMILY’s search for their missing 66-year-old mother ended in anguish on Sunday after her partially decomposed body was discovered in bushes off Coral Road, dashing any hope her relatives had of finding her alive.

Police, accompanied by close relatives of 66-year-old Barbara Lewis, made the grim discovery shortly before 4pm after deploying drones to search a bushy area along a track road behind Pioneer’s Loop Subdivision.

Ms Lewis, a resident of Spinney Road, had been reported missing on Wednesday, three days after she was last seen.

On the day of her disappearance, she had been walking home after being discharged from Rand Memorial Hospital for barracuda poisoning.

Her daughter, Kenya Adderley, who had flown to Freeport from Florida on Friday, was with police when the body was found.

She and other family members led the search effort, directing officers to the area on Sunday after receiving a tip from a motorist concerning her last whereabouts.

“I got a tip on Friday that my mom was crossing over from Nansen over to the track road. They stopped to let her pass with food in her hand,” she said.

Ms Adderley went to CID and shared the information before providing a piece of clothing to assist the K9 unit in their search.  Police were then taken to the area, where a drone was deployed.  Ms Lewis’ body was discovered approximately 300 feet into the bushes.

“When the drone went up, we saw a buzzard flying and they followed it, and in less than two minutes, I saw my mother’s body from the drone,” she said.

Though devastated by the discovery, Ms Adderley said the family was grateful to finally have closure. She also thanked police and local volunteers who joined the search. “It feels better. I mean, I was prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. But at least I know we found her,” she told reporters at the scene, supported by her siblings and an aunt.

Family members had spent days searching the same area where Ms Lewis was eventually discovered but was unable to access the area by foot. “We’ve been searching from Friday,”  Ms Adderley said. “We were all through the track roads back here and didn’t find her. It just so happened that it was Sunday —  a week ago Sunday she went missing — that we found her.”

Barbara’s sister, Pamela Lewis, said the family never gave up searching.

The discovery followed a chain of events that began when Ms Lewis was taken to hospital. Her daughter said she had been taken there by her boyfriend, who was later arrested after reportedly becoming upset over how long doctors were taking to attend to her.

Unaware that her boyfriend had been taken into police custody, Ms Lewis reportedly waited for him before deciding to walk home when he did not return.

CCTV footage later captured Ms Lewis heading in the direction of home. “She was just trying to get home. The cameras showed her starting and stopping. You could tell she was still weak and dehydrated because she had vomiting and diarrhea. Along with the fact that she had seizures, that could have triggered one,” her grieving daughter said.

Ms Adderley told The Tribune she was deeply concerned that the hospital discharged her mother without first contacting family members, given her history of seizures. “All of this, unfortunately, is what caused the death of my mom,” she claimed.

Police said they do not suspect foul play, but added that investigations are continuing.

Officers told reporters on scene that an autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause of death.

Meanwhile, for Ms Adderley and her family, the painful task now turns to preparing to lay their loved one to rest.

“We still have to officially identify her,” she said. “Then I guess we start preparing for the funeral.”