Concerned Citizens to conduct search for Kemba Marshall, nearly five months after he went missing; police asked why no alarm was raised

A search for Kemba Marshall – the boy who has been missing since February
of this year – will be conducted on Saturday, July 6, by the Concerned Citizens
of Antigua and Barbuda group, which is inviting everyone who has the interest
of children at heart to join.

The search party will meet at the Five Islands Primary School at 6 a.m.,
organizers say.

On June 26, REAL News reported that the whereabouts of then-unidentified
child could not be confirmed by either parent – his mother, who lives in Five
Islands, nor his father, a resident of Bolans.

All that was known, then, was that the boy – who apparently turned 13 years
old since his disappearance – had not been seen at the Five Island Primary,
where he was a student, for months. And law-enforcement sources confirmed
to our Newsroom that the matter had been reported to at least two police
stations; to the Ministry of Education, and to the Welfare Department.

However, the Police failed to publish the usual Missing Person Bulletin and the
public remained unaware of the child’s disappearance – although other media
sources now report that the parents had informed the authorities several
months ago.

So far, no explanation for this negligence has been offered.
In fact, it was a concerned school official who alerted REAL News to the
situation in April; but authority figures were very reluctant to discuss the
matter – apart from confirming that they were aware of the situation – and no
details were divulged.

United Progressive Party Political Leader Jamale Pringle tells our Newsroom
he cannot understand why the Police failed to raise public alarm about the
disappearance of a child so young – especially at a time when so many young
men have gone missing.

Meanwhile, the Party’s Rural South caretaker, Gladys Potter, has described the
cover-up of a missing child as “an evil act,” and said this situation should
awaken the consciousness of the Nation.

To that end, the Concerned Citizens’ organizers say there “are inviting
members of the Police Force, the Defense Force, other paramilitary groups,
clubs, church groups, youth groups, and civil-society organizations” to pitch in
on Saturday to help search for Kemba.

Residents who own or have access to drone technology are also invited to turn
out for what the group hopes will be “a massive search party.”