Blame game continues over missing Berbice teen

…Police begin search

As the blame game continues as to who is responsible for rescuing the 12-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted and taken to a “ganja” farm along the Berbice River, Police have been dispatched to the area.
The story of the missing teen came to light after several sections of the media reported her mother’s plight in finding her. For months, the mother had been engaging the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) and the Police in a bid to find her daughter, but to no avail.
On Wednesday after media reports surfaced, the mother said that she was informed that efforts are being made to rescue the teen. She, however, added that no offers were made to take along a close family member for the search.

According to the woman, she went to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during the day and at 16:00h she was told to return later in the evening for an update, but when she returned, the Police Station was closed and a padlock was on the door.
Meanwhile, the CC&PA said that while it received reports of the missing girl, the mother was sent to make a Police report since it was the Police’s job to find the child.
CC&PA Director Ann Greene, when contacted for an update on the matter, told Guyana Times International that investigations were underway to determine what occurred. “I now have my officer investigating, so whether or not it’s really us, Probation or what, I got to find out; I’m doing investigations,” Greene highlighted.
The mother of the missing teen told this publication on Tuesday that the Police in Berbice and the New Amsterdam office of the CC&PA were well aware of the issue, but had done nothing to actively pursue the matter. She claimed that she first went to the CC&PA and was told that the incident was a Police matter. When the media got wind of the incident on Monday, the Social Protection Ministry requested that it be given one day to pursue efforts to find the missing girl. However, after the story was reported in the press, the Agency embarked on damage control, with a senior official observing that other units involved in protecting children needed to be investigated. These entities are the Probation Office and the Trafficking in Persons Unit in addition to Police.
Reports are that the woman’s daughter is being held by two adult brothers at a location in Berbice. The young lady was held along with a 13-year-old who reportedly escaped.
They were said to have been held at a camp, where they were subjected to starvation, sexual assault and other forms of abuse.
Meanwhile, the 13-year-old girl, who was rescued spoke with Guyana Times International in the presence of two adults. She revealed that the ordeal was facilitated by a woman who allegedly moved her from the New Amsterdam Market under the pretext that they were going to collect money that the woman had for the girl’s father.
This publication understands that the woman is the mother of the two males who held the girls in captivity.