Man missing after accident found dead yesterday morning
Victims remembered as pleasant members of society
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A birthday celebration on Man Island that ended in the tragic deaths of two Eleutheran women and a Harbour Island man following a boating accident has left the island reeling, according to North Eleuthera MP Howard “Rickey” Mackey, who asked for the nation to offer their prayers.
According to reports, a 28-foot Bertram vessel en route to Man Island collided with a 17-foot Boston Whaler with eight people on board.
The captain of the larger vessel believed he “heard and felt a loud bang and assumed that his vessel had hit a rock”, according to police, and did not learn of the accident until later.
Two women were airlifted to New Providence and remain in critical condition, according to Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters, while another man and two women were treated at the Harbour Island Clinic.
Leanna Cartwright-Butler, of Gregory Town — the granddaughter of Dianna Cartwright-Thompson, known as “The Pineapple Lady” — and Candice McDonald, of Lower Bogue, were pronounced dead.
Jay Roberts, who remained missing on Sunday night, was found in waters near the area of the incident early yesterday morning.
Mackey was a part of the search team that found the young man around 7.30am.
The MP, who said he knew the families of the victims personally, described Roberts, whose father is a preacher and mother is a hairdresser, as a “really likable person” who was always smiling.
Of the young women, the MP said they were both very pleasant.
“Lean Cartwright, every time she sees you, she’ll nod her head and then she’ll smile and Candice McDonald was so full of life. Her mother and her father, they are really — the mother, she could hardly control herself.
“I have spoken with Roberts and I have spoken with Candice’s [relatives] but I haven’t spoken to Lady Di’ as yet and part of the reason for that is early this morning when we went out and discovered Jay Roberts’ body, I have been involved in that since 7.30am/8am this morning. The morgue on Harbour Island only has two spaces, so we had to take the body to Spanish Wells, and then I had to fly into Nassau to sign some documents.”
Mackey said he intends to return to Eleuthera today and will speak with Cartwright-Thompson.
“While it was a gala affair — actually, it was a birthday celebration that they were having on one of the neighboring islands,” he confirmed.
“It is a very, very tragic affair and the entire island of Eleuthera is really saddened and are asking for prayers. The young man…his father is a very close friend of mine, and so is Candice McDonald.
“Her father is an extremely close friend of mine and assisted me with various projects in the community and everybody in Eleuthera knows Lady Di’, the famous Pineapple Lady…
“It is unfortunate that accidents like this do occur.
“We often try to tell our children to pay more attention when they attend events like this.
“We had a situation about 12 years ago with a young man, almost identical circumstances — traveling from an event on a neighboring island and there was a boating accident.
“This has left the community on North Eleuthera deeply saddened and we’re asking for prayers for our community and I am hoping that some of these young persons who have been really devastated by it will seek counseling and guidance.”
Eyewitness News understands there was a boating event called “Day Away Bahamas, Rum Run Beach Day Away”, where dozens of vessels took passengers from New Providence to an area near Eleuthera and returned on the same day.
A man purporting to be McDonald’s partner, in a social media post, remembered her as a “virtuous woman”, while an event attendee who claimed to have had first-hand experience with spotting the overturned vessel claimed no one believed her when she said there was a victim trapped underneath.
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