Policemen from the Marine, Railways and Ports units of the Ghana Police Service who have been at the forefront of the search for Castro (Theophilius Tagoe), and his female companion, Janet Bandu, at the Volta Estuary at Ada have returned to their base at the Tema Main Harbour Police Command Post.
However, policemen from the Marine Police who were permanently stationed there before the incident are still at post and will continue with efforts at finding the two persons.
Superintendent Joseph Antwi Ababio, the Leader of the Marine Police, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at Ada on Tuesday, said despite the reduction in the intensity of the search, the two missing persons could not be pronounced dead until their bodies had been salvaged and confirmed as dead.
New strategies
For now, he said, the team had retreated to its base as part of measures aimed at mapping out new strategies in the search for the missing persons.
In the interim, he said, emissaries had been despatched to liaise with key stakeholders along the various coastal towns such as Aflao, Keta, Anloga, Prampram, Tema and surrounding areas to be on the lookout for bodies in the water.
According to him, before the policemen left on Monday, they had visited the scene of the incident with a team from the Ghana Navy to carry out an official assessment.
“But we have not abandoned the search. Our men are permanently stationed there and they are still on the lookout,” he said.
Supt Ababio said time was approaching for the annual festival of the people of Ada and that the retreat of the rescue team was part of a grand scheme aimed at fashioning out an educational programme for patrons of the festival to forestall any unforeseen negative incidents.
DCE’s confirmation
The Ada East District Chief Executive, Mr John Nurudeen Ahortu, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the search operation by the specialised team had abated but that local fishermen were still on the lookout for the two, dead or alive.
He said incidents of drowning were not so common in the area and that even when they occurred, the bodies were washed ashore or retrieved after some five days, but in the current case the specialised team had been kept for a week.
Mr Ahortu said that the local fishermen had been given adequate briefing on what to look out for and that when they spotted anything, they would immediately alert the relevant authorities for instant action and support.