CAMP TRAGEDY - Grieving mother questions supervision after Munro student dies in St Thomas

Overcome by grief, Shackera Crowl could not bring herself to walk the final few steps to look at her son’s lifeless body on the beach.
Instead, the heartbroken mother, who turned back in tears, is left demanding answers as she struggles to cope with the loss of one of her three children.
“I just want to know how they leave the compound and reach down here when they have coaches and supervisors. They leave the compound and nobody knows? I need answers, man,” she cried.
Crowl, who was being comforted by her aunt and a guidance counsellor, said she was struggling to understand how her son, 16-year-old Munro College student Kamal Reynolds, could have left the supervised compound and ended up in the waters off Shallay Beach in Yallahs, St Thomas. The boy had been staying in the parish at a football camp.
“Oh, God! I just need to talk to somebody. I need some answers. I know they are boys, but they are still underage,” she said through tears. “There are three coaches ... . No, I need answers.”
Crowl, other relatives, a guidance counsellor, and a teacher from Munro College had travelled to St Thomas after receiving news that Reynolds’ body had been found.
The teenager, of Black River, St Elizabeth, was identified by relatives before his body was removed from the scene by undertakers.
His grieving grandaunt, Elaine Crowl-Brown, said the family is devastated by the loss.
“Dem mourning bad, and dem tek it real hard,” she said.
Crowl-Brown recalled the painful moment she learnt of Reynolds’ death.
“Mi son come from school. Him go Belmont [Academy]. And when him come inna di yard, mi see him a cry. Mi ask him, ‘Brandon, what happen to yuh a road?’ Him seh, ‘Mummy, OJ dead.’”
She remembered Reynolds as a quiet child who loved football and was so talented that the coach would allow him to help coach the other players.
Crowl-Brown said relatives have heard different accounts of what happened and want clarity.
“We hear all sorts of stuff, different stories from different people. But I just want to know how they left the compound and reached down here when they had coaches and supervisors,” Reynolds’ mother insisted.
Her sister, Tishawn Pink, said one of the coaches told her that he had seen a group of boys leaving the camp on Wednesday and had spoken to them.
The Gleaner reached out to one of the coaches, who declined to comment but promised to provide the contact information for the head coach. However, subsequent calls to his phone went unanswered.
Reynolds was swept away at about 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday while at Shallay Beach during a break from football training, according to a police report.
Another male reportedly attempted to rescue him but was unsuccessful.
However, residents at the scene relayed a different account.
Residents said one of the boys told them that the youngsters had informed their coach they were going to wash off near the house where they were staying as there was no water or light but instead, walked up to the beach. At the time, they had reportedly left one of the coaches cleaning.
They claimed that Reynolds said he wanted to “ride the waves” before getting into difficulty. According to residents, the beach is not regularly used for swimming because of the rough conditions.
Intense waves and high winds were observed when The Gleaner visited the location on Thursday. Residents, however, said the conditions were more intense on Wednesday when Reynolds was swept away.
The St Thomas Marine Division and the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard searched the area on Wednesday but were unable to locate the teenager.
The search resumed on Thursday, but the Marine Division left the area before Reynolds’ body was discovered.
Residents, who continued searching, later spotted the body floating offshore and contacted local diver Lawrence Lynch, who responded despite dangerous sea conditions.
Lynch said he entered the water because he wanted Reynolds’ family to have the chance to give him a proper burial.
“As a parent, my heart really goes out to know that I am here in the parish and I heard that he is not from the parish as well. It’s one thing to lose someone, and it’s another thing not to have the body to even pay your respects,” Lynch said.
Lynch, who was praised by community members for his bravery, said the sea was extremely rough, with strong winds and powerful currents making the recovery difficult.
Lynch said Reynolds’ body was about 100 metres offshore when he reached it and was being carried farther out by the current.
“I just said, ‘Lord, give me the strength to go and retrieve the body so at least the family could have a proper burial for him’,” he said.
Some residents believe the teenager’s life could have been saved with a quicker response from first responders or if a diver had been nearby.
“Me nuh think from the time the boys tek to call us to the time we walk down here him would a drown already,” a woman, who gave her name as Samois, said.
According to her, after the boys approached them for help, they called the police, who took some time to arrive. Residents also said they could only find one diver who wanted assistance with equipment.
“All mi a ask is if the police dem nuh train fi swim,” another woman, Achemea, queried.
The Yallahs police are investigating the incident as a suspected drowning.
tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com