There is a massive air and sea search operation being conducted in the waters off the Belize and Honduran coasts for two Belizean fishermen. The Garbutt brothers, 37 year old Joseph and 27 year old Earl who works for the Belize Audubon Society were reported missing Wednesday by family members after they hadn't returned from what was supposed to have been a 24 hour trip made to neighboring Roatan, Honduras early Sunday morning.
The Belize Coast Guard were alerted by Police about the missing fishermen and along with the Belize Defence Force Air Wing have been conducting both aerial and marine searches, but have so far come up with nothing. The Garbutt's are residents of the Lake Independence area and are considered seasoned fishermen like the older patron of the family, Joe Garbutt, Sr. According to the father, his sons went to Roatan with the intentions of purchasing a skiff from a friend.
Joe Garbutt, father of missing fishermen
"His friend promised him the skiff from here, but it seems like his friend go over or live over there I don't know, so he tell him to go over there for the skiff cause he and the son are very good friends, so he went there for the skiff, but he never returned."
Jim McFadzean
"Have your sons travelled to Roatan before, they are able to navigate the waters to Roatan before? They have experience doing this before?"
Joe Garbutt
"Yes, they have experience, right, I don't know how much time they go there right, but em, they have experience, they suppose to know the waters over there, suppose to know it, cause he's all around here, all around Belize here, he knows all the waters around Belize here, cause he's a very good Captain, very Good Captain. My son, the youngest one, he works at Belize Audubon Society, at Half Moon Caye."
Jim McFadzean
"Do you believe they were prepared for the trip?"
Joe Garbutt
"They were prepared, they were prepared, they had life saving vests, and the boat is a fibreglass boat, foam rubber boat, the length I don't know the length, 32, 32, right ok, yeh yeh, so the boat is equipped, the boat is equipped, I don't know what went wrong, all we can say, and we didn't have any weather, all we can say is that maybe something was wrong with the boat, but as far as I understand is that the boat cant' sink, even if it catches a full load of water, the boat won't go to the that's what I understand."
Joe Garbutt
"But I understand that, this is what I understand is that the boat has a compass, and he knows a compass, as I tell you, he is a good man of the sea, he know a compass, so he couldn't be off course, only thing could happen is something happen to the skiff, only that could happen, but what happen we don't know, we don't know because they never returned."
Shantel Johnson, Niece of Missing Brothers
"The latest is that we don't know where they are and they were supposed to be home at least by Monday. They left from Honduras, Sunday night, evening, my Aunt went over there to see or try to find some way to get in contact with them or where they are. She called and she says they are looking, boat, planes, she get people to help. All that we want is to find them, we already have a loss in the family, and we can't afford to lose two more at the same time, we just want them home."
In the meantime, word coming from the Coast Guard is that no efforts are being spared to try and locate the two men. Lt. Gregory Soberanis, Operations Officer, Belize Coast Guard told 7news his men sprang into action as soon as they were alerted by the family, utilizing all assets available including one of the recently acquired Boston Whalers.
Lt. Gregory Soberanis, Operations Officer - Belize Coast Guard
"Several things were done, one; we alerted our patrols, relayed to them the information that we had received and two; a notice to mariners was sent out in our sea spaces, three; we quickly liaised with the Belize Defence Force to get the aircraft up and going to conduct an aerial search in sector south in the country of Belize."
Jim McFadzean
"Has the Belize Coast Guard been in communication with your counterparts in Honduras?"
Lt. Gregory Soberanis
"Yes, that was another step that we took. We ensure that the information was relayed to our Honduran counterparts because we do maintain communications with the Honduran Navy."
Jim McFadzean
"What area are you conducting this search?"
Lt. Gregory Soberanis
"Based on the information that we have received, we are conducting search more in the southern sector of the country of Belize. We have a vessel out there that is conducting a search from Hunting Caye to Northward up to Gladden's Pitt. We believe that if they are in Honduras they would probably make their way through Gladden's Pitt then through the Gladden's Pitt channel forward north to Belize City. "
Jim McFadzean
"What have you received from authorities in Honduras? Can they confirm at all at this point whether the two fishermen actually landed in Honduran territorial waters?"
Lt. Gregory Soberanis
"We have received information that they departed Honduras approximately 1400 hours Sunday afternoon. Since that time nothing has been heard from the brothers. Many times Jim you will find sometimes that these fishermen encounter one engine problem, sometime you would meet a sudden squall out at sea. Inclement weather that would force you to take cover on an island. And at times this area is a hot area, so we definitely don't want to ruled out coastal piracy. We are looking at all angles at this time. The police is also investigating this matter."
Soberanis says the search is still on for the two men, but at some point it will have to come to an end, and at that time the family will be informed.
The Garbutts' are praying for a positive outcome, keeping in mind that only ten years ago one of the Garbutt brothers, Paul, also a fisherman was shot dead at the Vernon street fisherman's market. The family is asking that anyone with information about the two missing brothers, call the following telephone numbers 203-4183 or 625-0775.
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