Search on for Missing Tourist at Kaieteur National Park; all tours suspended

September 2, 2015 5:33 am Category: latest news A+ / A-

Lores of the majestic Kaieteur Falls

The mighty Kaieteur is referred to in some of the legends as The Old Man's Fall. An old man named Kai, who used to live in a village further up the Potaro River, sailed in a canoe down the stream and over the edge of the waterfall. As he was plunging to his death, the spirits or the Great Spirit (or Makonaima) changed him into immortal form. His boat was turned into an elongated, pointed rock that can still be seen at the bottom of the waterfall, while his pegall is preserved as another rock formation there. During periods of low water levels, his features may be seen outlined in rock. Kai is said to be living in a cave hidden behind the sheer drop of the water and sometimes the falls are covered in mist. When this happens, it is because Kai is cooking and the smoke forms that mist. Swallows and other birds are often seen swirling around, and they are said to have flown along to accompany Kai on his last voyage. They wailed at his passing, but when he was transformed, they remained with him, often flying in and around the cave.

Doctor disappears at Kaieteur Falls

Police and officials of the Ogle Airport and Air Services Limited were up to late last night trying to ascertain the whereabouts of a passenger who disappeared after touring the Kaieteur Falls yesterday. This newspaper was reliably informed that the Air Services Limited aircraft returned yesterday with one fewer person than it transported to the world famous waterfalls. A source at the Ogle Airport told this newspaper last night that the aircraft left the city around midday with nine passengers for a tour of the Kaieteur Falls. Among them was a female environmental doctor who was scheduled to leave for Miami today. People on the flight said that the woman was seen crying into a phone while on the plane. When the aircraft landed at the falls the woman appeared to brighten. Air Services Limited transported two groups of tourists to the Kaieteur Falls. A spokesperson said that while the pilots were on the ground no other aircraft landed or left. This meant that the woman could not have left the area by mistake. The woman was discovered missing when the tour guide was distributing chits to the passengers for snacks, at the Kaieteur airstrip before they boarded the aircraft back to Ogle. One of her colleagues on the trip said that the missing woman was with the party when it was returning along the trail from the falls.

The missing doctor at center

She said that the woman lagged behind and when they urged her to walk up she said that she knew the place and that she had been there several times before. She spoke of being with a British team that discovered some caves in the Kaieteur Falls area a few years ago. Air Services Limited officials were a bit tightlipped but did confirm that the passenger was missing. One official declined to say if the missing person is a Guyanese or a visitor from overseas. Airline officials and the police have ruled out the possibility of the missing passenger from the Air Services Ltd. flight getting mixed up with another group that was also touring the falls yesterday. In any case, they would have all landed by nightfall. The Ministry of the Presidency said that the Department of Natural Resources has reported that a search operation is currently underway at the Kaieteur National Park (KNP), Region Eight to locate the female visitor to the park who has been reported missing. The National Parks Commission Rangers, who facilitated the tour, were joined by other staffers in executing an immediate search operation. “All relevant authorities including the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) were notified. An expanded search party will resume operations today. Tours to the KNP have since been suspended.

The lady wander off

Let us not draw conclusions but wait for the police and army reports and investigation.

She spoke of being with a British team that discovered some caves in the Kaieteur Falls area a few years ago.

Maybe checking out those caves:

No signs of missing Kaieteur Falls woman – search resumes today

Missing: Laleta Sivanand

The search operations to find the woman who disappeared on Monday during a trip to the Kaieteur National Park is to be further intensified today according to the Ministry of the Presidency.

The woman has been identified as Laleta Sivanand, who is said to be in her early 40s. Contrary to what the woman had told people on the trip she is neither a doctor nor an environmentalist. In fact her field of employment is Human Resource and she is a former employee of Laparkan and Singer’s.

The search started on the same day that she was discovered missing and according to the Ministry of the Presidency the search party has been expanded to include the Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force who joined the National Parks Commission Rangers on Tuesday.

Reports are that all of the trails in the Park were searched and binoculars were also used to view the area below the falls and along the sides of the gorge. However, up to 18:00hrs last evening there was still no trace of the woman.

As a result of the incident all tours to the KNP continue to be suspended.

The Ministry of the Presidency noted that they continue to treat the matter as a search for a missing person case and remain hopeful that she will be located.

When it was discovered that the woman had gone missing, officials said a search operation was immediately launched but as was expected the terrain is rough and difficult to maneuver.

Yesterday this publication visited the woman’s home at Durban Backlands and spoke to her husband Rabindranauth Sivanand, but he did not wish to say much. He however echoed the sentiments of an elderly woman at the home that it is, “A troubling, worrisome and stressful time for the family.”

He said that he last saw his wife on Tuesday morning, adding that “she left to go out but she did not say where she was going.” He also expressed hope, saying, “I hope that they find her and that she is found alive.”

Reports are that the woman was seen crying and talking on her phone while on the airplane heading to the tourist destination before she started lagging behind and finally disappearing.

When asked if there may have been problems in the home before she left the husband said such information is his private business.

On Tuesday night officials from the Air Services Limited confirmed that one of its aircraft returned to the Ogle Airport with one fewer person than it transported to the world famous waterfalls.

A source told this newspaper that the aircraft left the city around midday with nine passengers for a tour of the Kaieteur Falls.

Among them was Laleta Sivanand.

People on the flight said that the woman was seen crying into a phone while on the plane.

When the aircraft landed at the falls the woman appeared to brighten.

Air Services Limited transported two groups of tourists to the Kaieteur Falls. A spokesperson said that while the pilots were on the ground, no other aircraft landed or left. This meant that the woman could not have left the area with another tour group by mistake.

The woman was discovered missing when the tour guide was distributing chits to the passengers for snacks, at the Kaieteur airstrip before they boarded the aircraft back to Ogle.

One of her colleagues on the trip said that the missing woman was with the party when it was returning along the trail from the falls.

She said that the woman lagged behind and when they urged her to walk up she said that she knew the place and that she had been there several times before.

She spoke of being with a British team that discovered some caves in the Kaieteur Falls area a few years ago.

Yesterday this publication visited the woman’s home at Durban Backlands and spoke to her husband Rabindranauth Sivanand, but he did not wish to say much. He however echoed the sentiments of an elderly woman at the home that it is, “A troubling, worrisome and stressful time for the family.”

He said that he last saw his wife on Tuesday morning, adding that “she left to go out but she did not say where she was going.”

Crying on the flight, communication problem with her husband reason for not saying where she was going.

Seems like this was a worried woman?

He said that he last saw his wife on Tuesday morning, adding that “she left to go out but she did not say where she was going.” He also expressed hope, saying, “I hope that they find her and that she is found alive.”

She left to go out and went to Kaiteur Falls!

This telling of the story does a disservice to native belief. Myths have purpose, they tell of purposeful sacrifice or conquests. This was no ordinary old man. He was a Lokono chief. He was not a nutcase and simply paddled his canoe stupidly to be pulled by the powerful currents  the great  water falls. That would make him a dunce and not one long versed in living in the forest with decades of accumulated wisdom about this falls.

His was a sacrifice for his people and a promise that his sacrifice would knowledge the great spirit and its ubiquitous capacity to provide even when things look grim as it did for his people at the time. It was no less than Abraham sacrificing or attempting to sacrifice his son or the wisdom that god provides all the time which we sometimes forget. The swallows and  the lillies of the fields do not even contemplate Providence because they  implicitly know it exists.

Kai represents the spirit of providence and the virtue of a good leader to do what is necessary for the sake of a people. The incidentals to the tale is that he still reside there and the mists or the swallows ot the double rainbow can be explained in terms of his presence.

I would have thought that there would be some protocol where, prior to take off, a count of passengers would be done to ensure that no one was missing.

Hopefully they will now do this.

Search still on for missing Tourist at Kaieteur National Park

• Thursday, 03 September 2015 21:41
• Written by  Demerara Waves
• DISQUS_COMMENTS

MISSING AT KAIETEUR NATIONAL PARK: Gyaneshwarie Sivanand.

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Demerara Waves

demwaves@gmail.com

It is beginning to look obvious that her disappearance has something to do with the phone conversation she had with her husband. From her behaviour after the call the possibility of suicide is even worthy of consideration. Somebody from the police should have a chat with the husband about that phone call.

Search extends into Kaieteur Gorge for missing tourist

September 5, 2015 5:10 am Category: latest news A+ / A-

Missing: Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivinand

[www.inewsguyana.com] –

The team from the Special Forces of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) descended into the Kaieteur Gorge to continue the search to locate Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivinanda, who was reported missing at Kaieteur National Park on September 01, 2015.

According to the Ministry of the Presidency, the search is very dangerous as they have to carefully navigate their way through the extremely rugged and rocky area and the Kaieteur Falls at full flow.

As of 16:00 hrs on Friday, there was no further word on their efforts. iNews understands that the search team has been further enhanced with the arrival of a Special Forces team from the Guyana Defence Force.

The woman was part of a group of persons on a tour, organised by a local tour operator – Air Services Limited. Reports indicate that Sivinand was seen crying while on the phone on the plane; however when the aircraft landed at the Falls, she appeared perky.

It has been reported that the flight had a total of nine passengers and sometime during the tour, she was discovered to be missing.

Contrary to what the woman had told people on the trip, she is neither a doctor nor an environmentalist. As a matter of fact, she is a former employee of Laparkan and Singer’s.

As a result of her being missing, all tours to the Kaieteur Falls have been suspended.

To leave home without telling your spouse where you are going and end up at the Kaieteur Falls suggest some kind of marital problems. How did this woman go from being a doctor to being a HR person?

Ksaz she was never a doctor, a former employee of La Parkan and Singers, now that more is known, seems like a domestic problem.

hehehe lil backward to Jagdeo dem does do eh?

Huckleberry season over yet?

This does not make any sense. How can experience rangers who know the area not find her.  Unless she fell into the river.

Hope of finding missing tourist alive dwindles

Missing: Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivanand

Hope of finding Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivanand alive has almost faded, after a team from the Special Forces of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) completed a search of the gorge below Kaieteur Falls, but came up empty-handed. Sivanand, a female tourist, disappeared while on a tour of the world famous Kaieteur Falls. Officials now believe that after a week of searching the area, it will be a miracle if she is found alive. “We do not have any evidence that she fell off or plunged over the falls. And given the wide area that was covered during the search, there is no sign of her even being in the area,” a GDF official told this newspaper. “It is very hard for anyone to survive in those conditions near the falls, let alone a woman,” the official added. The GDF search of the gorge ended on Saturday. The Ministry of the Presidency in a statement later that day said that the search was slow, due to the dangerous and extremely rugged terrain in the gorge below Kaieteur Falls. Reports are that all of the trails in the Park were searched. Binoculars were also used to view the area below the falls and along the sides of the gorge. However, there is still no trace of the woman. A release stated, “The Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) wishes to inform the general public that the Kaieteur National Park remains closed until further notice, as the investigation that is being led by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), with assistance from other agencies continues.   A review of the Park’s operation protocols is ongoing to ensure the continued safety of visitors to this magnificent site.” Sivanand was among a group of tourists to the Kaieteur Falls on Tuesday last. The woman, who was employed in the field of Human Resources, is a former employee of Laparkan and Singer’s. Reports are that the woman was seen crying and talking on her phone while the airplane was heading to the tourist destination. When the aircraft landed at the falls, the woman appeared in better spirits. Sivanand was discovered missing when the tour guide was distributing chits to the passengers for snacks, at the Kaieteur airstrip before they boarded the aircraft back to Ogle. One of her colleagues on the trip said that the missing woman was with the party when it was returning along the trail from the falls. She said that the woman lagged behind and when they urged her to walk up she said that she knew the place and that she had been there several times before. She spoke of being with a British team that discovered some caves in the Kaieteur Falls area a few years ago. That has been found to be not true.