The body of a veteran NYPD officer was found after he went missing Sunday while on vacation in Guyana.
Officer Gladstone Haynes, 43, may have drowned while visiting Orinduik Falls, located in Guyana, Pix 11 reports. Police said he was likely pulled underwater by a strong current, according to Yahoo from a report in the Daily News.
Meanwhile, the Guyanese online news site Demerara Waves is reporting that Haynes, of the 70th Precinct in Flatbush, was swimming when he disappeared. He was touring the falls on the border of Guyana and Brazil with friends. The group arrived at the waterfall site by plane.
A tourist who witnessed the apparent drowning told the Demerara Waves that Haynes “went into some difficulty in the water.” Haynes was swimming with others in the tour group and witnesses said “he held another guy’s hand” as he began to struggle in the water.
“I don’t know if the guy couldn’t grip him, and at that point he went under water and he didn’t come up back after that point,” the tourist said.
“He got swept away by the current of the water,” said his cousin Allison Lawrence, according to Yahoo. “He was an avid swimmer, so it’s a surprise.”
Originally from Guyana, Haynes was visiting the falls with the mother of his children, Alicia Vassell, who was celebrating her 34th birthday, the New York Post reported. He lived in Brooklyn with his partner and three children. Haynes’ father was a member of the Guyanese police force, Yahoo reported.
“He loved his job,” Lawrence said. “He was a 17-year veteran. He always wanted to be a police officer because his father was a police officer.”
The NYPD confirmed on Wednesday, three days after his disappearance, that Haynes’ body was found, Pix 11 reported.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of one of our own — Police Officer Gladstone Haynes, a 17 year veteran assigned to the @NYPD70Pct who tragically died while on vacation in Guyana,” NYPD Assistant Chief Michael M. Kemper tweeted.
“Our deepest thoughts & prayers are with his family, friends, & co-workers,” Kemper said.
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