RSIPF searches for missing child in East Malaita

Officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) at the Atori Police Station in East Malaita, Malaita Province are conducting a search for the body of a young boy who had gone missing after the canoe he was travelling in sunk while travelling between the mainland and Kwai Island on 15 November 2020.
The young boy, aged between 7 and 8 years old, was travelling with his mother and other women in a fibre canoe after attending a funeral service on the mainland when the canoe sunk on their way back to Kwai Island.
Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Malaita Chief Superintendent Stanley Riolo explains, “Half way through the journey, the canoe sunk and the occupants started swimming. The mother struggled to rescue herself and her son but could not able to do since both were slowly drowning. The mother managed to save herself whilst the child drowned and could not be found.”
“Our officers at Atori were alerted and a search was mounted for the missing child until the night of 15 November when the search was called off due to bad weather and then continued again in the morning of 16 November 2020. The search is expected to continue today (17 November 2020). So far there has been no sighting of the young boy’s body.”
“My sincere condolence to the family of the missing child,” says PPC Riolo
“I want to appeal to people living in villages along the coastal areas of East Fataleka, East Kwaio, and East Kwara’ae to look out for the body of the boy along the coastline, and if there is any unusual or suspicious sightings to please contact Officer In-charge (OIC) at Atoifi Police Station Martin Ifanasafi on mobile phone 7885971 or OIC Atori Police Station Staff Sergeant Robert Kwairia on mobile phone: 7861970 or 8935115.

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The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) was established in 1954. Its mission is ‘To provide a safe and peaceful Solomon Islands by strengthening relationships with the community’. The RSIPF strive to provide efficient and effective policing services for the Solomon Islands and expect RSIPF officers to adhere to the RSIPF values.

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