The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE father of a teenager who drowned off Guana Cay, Abaco, on Saturday said the boy’s sister tried to save him after he was swept away by a wave, but it was too late.

Lathario Miller, who lives in Long Island, told The Tribune: “It makes me sad because he could’ve been right here. I just hear his voice Friday and now after that I hear he gone. It really hurt me.”

Mr Miller said he was told his son, Josiah, had been screaming in the water in his final moments. He said Josiah had scoliosis and that doctors had previously advised against him going into the water.

Josiah was described as a mannerly, kind and loving child with a promising future.

Police gave his age as 15, but his father said he was 14.

He was a Grade 9 student at Patrick J Bethel High School. In a statement, the school extended condolences to his family, friends and classmates in Grade 9B.

Josiah lived in Abaco with his mother and was reportedly on Guana Cay celebrating a cousin’s birthday. Mr Miller said his daughter called him on Saturday with the news. He said he was still unsure of the full circumstances, as Josiah’s mother had not yet spoken to him.

According to police, they were told shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday that the teenager had been swimming with friends at Dolphin Beach when strong currents swept him away.

Officers, Hope Town Fire & Rescue personnel and several private boaters searched the surrounding waters. Shortly after 5pm, a police drone located Josiah unresponsive in the water.

He was brought ashore, and medical personnel on Guana Cay performed CPR, but there were no signs of life. He was taken to the Marsh Harbour Healthcare Centre, where a doctor pronounced him dead shortly before 7pm.

Josiah is the second Patrick J Bethel High School student to die in Abaco’s waters this year. In June, 10th-grade student Kyron Curry died after falling from a boat near Green Turtle Cay. Police said a 12-year-old was driving the boat.