Where is Owen Hamilton?

Reporter: Akeem Orrett

 

Waiting, hoping, and praying for the safe return of a man who disappeared without a trace, 66-year-old Owen Hamilton, a respected bursar and father, has not been seen since Saturday, July 4, after leaving home to attend a gravedigging in Bamboo St Ann.

 

Days later, every unanswered phone call and every passing hour has only deepened the family's anguish.

 

For most families, a goodbye is often followed by the comforting expectation of a loved one's return. But for the Hamiltons, that return never came.

 

66-year-old Owen Hamilton left home on Saturday morning dressed in a blue and black plaid shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He was heading to a grave digging in Mountain Road in Bamboo St Ann. Since then, silence.

 

Nicole Hamilton, daughter of missing man told CVM, “He went to Eric's gravedigging on Saturday and since going to the gravedigging, you know, we have not been able to communicate with him. We have not been able to see him. Everybody has basically said they saw him at the gravedigging, but nobody can confirm.

 

This has left the family distraught. Each sunrise now carries renewed hope. each sunset. Another painful reminder that Owen Hamilton is still missing. Nicole says her father has never disappeared before and despite smoking occasionally has no history of mental illness or behaviour that would cause concern.

 

“He does smoke, he'll drink, but for the most part is just a heart condition that he has. I'm not aware if he has like Alzheimer's or any type of memory loss, but he's up in age, so anything is possible. But for it to just snap like that, I don't know if something transpired in terms of that.”

 

For more than three decades, Owen Hamilton has been a familiar and respected figure in St Ann. He serves as the bursar at Bamboo Primary and Junior High School where colleagues and community members know him as a quiet, dependable, and hardworking man.

 

Standing approximately 6 ft tall with grey hair and brown eyes, his family believes someone somewhere may have seen something that could help bring him home.

 

“He was currently residing in Steer Town. That's where he left from to commute to Bamboo. We took a taxi there. The taxi man was also able to confirm that he dropped him off um at the grave digging along with another shopkeeper. She also confirmed that they saw him, but they cannot tell us if he left, when he left, and who he was last seen with.”

 

The family is now appealing to the public for assistance.

 

“We are at a miss right now. We have reported it to both the Bamboo police station

the St Ann’s Bay Police Station. This morning they told me that they're going to mobilize um a team in Brownstone because someone said they saw someone that might look like him based on the pictures that we posted on social media. So, we are still not sure. We're just guesstimating. I hope he's safe. I hope if somebody sees him, you know, they'll reach out to us. My number is 876-336-9145 or you can call 876-841-0241.”

 

In the meantime, this message from Nicole directly to the father she hopes is watching or listening; “We miss you. We love you. We hope you're alive and you're hearing this. Just try you know borrow somebody phone you know just come somewhere where someone can see you to give you directive or direction or some assistance. Yeah, we need you back home.”