Police saved toddler buried alive in Bodden Town
(CNS): The police have revealed that a three-year-old child was buried alive for a short period yesterday evening before they were able to get to the Bodden Town premises, save and resuscitate the child and coordinate with EMS teams, in a case that has rocked the community. A 26-year-old-man from Bodden Town, who has been identified on social media, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in police custody but he has not yet been charged.
It is not clear what preceded the events leading up to the incident but police said they received a call just after 6:00pm yesterday from a member of the public stating that a child had possibly been buried alive.
Bodden Town officers urgently responded to the Beach Bay area of the district and on the way alerted the need for an ambulance and supporting units. Those officers, who were the first people on the scene, recovered the toddler, who was distressed and had difficulty breathing. Making a risk-assessment, they opted to take the child in the police car to meet the ambulance rather than wait for it to arrive.
An RCIPS Firearms Response Unit with a trained tactical medical officer and medical equipment had also been dispatched to the call and met the Bodden Town officers in the Savannah area. Emergency treatment was administered and the child was given oxygen until the ambulance arrived.
The EMS then took the child to the Cayman Islands Hospital for more treatment. The child is now believed to be in a stable condition.
Police released an extremely brief alert about the incident on Wednesday evening with few details. However, the incident had already caused a significant stir across most local social media platforms, such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
As speculation mounted, the man, who is related to the child, was identified but various versions of events were exchanged, posted and re-posted, as people attempted to make sense of the horrifying incident.
It is understood that the child had sustained an injury prior to the burial but it is not clear how that injury occurred and whether it had been caused deliberately by the suspect.
