Closure for family as hunter’s body recovered
Published:Friday | October 1, 2021 | 12:08 AM
MILL BANK, Portland:
The body of 65-year-old hunter Renold Franklin was removed from a ravine in the hilly interior of the Rio Grande Valley, Portland, shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday by a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) helicopter, which was called in to assist with the recovery effort.
Franklin, who has hunted wild hogs for the better part of 40 years, went missing on the night of Saturday, September 25, after completing a successful day of hunting with one of his brothers and friends.
Britney Franklin, daughter of the deceased, said that the family was relieved to have closure and to be able to conduct a dignified burial for her father, who was a well-loved figure in Bellevue and Mill Bank.
Ms Franklin, who was sombre, expressed gratitude to the police, army, firefighters and others who assisted in the search effort in the hills, where they faced slippery pathways and footholds and rugged terrain.
According to residents and relatives, Franklin had been determined to head home and not spend the night in the bushes as it was getting rather cold and mosquitoes were everywhere.
It was his faithful dog that kept barking which led his colleagues to fear the worst. By daylight Sunday, Franklin’s body, which was barely visible among the branches of trees, was spotted more than 3,000 feet below.
After four days of trying to retrieve the corpse, a JDF helicopter, which reportedly aborted a recovery effort days before, was successful in airlifting the body to Folly Oval, where it was taken to the morgue.