A horrified uncle has described how he found his nephew “headless” after the boy was decapitated by a tiger shark off the coast of Jamaica.
Jahmari Reid, 16, had gone spearfishing alone near the popular tourist town of Montego Bay on Monday when he disappeared, according to local police.
The mutilated body of the high school student was recovered with his head and left arm reportedly bitten off by his horrified uncle and other divers who volunteered for the search on Tuesday morning.
“When we found him, his hand was on one side and then we found his body on the other side, headless,” Jahmari’s grieving uncle, Robert Robinson, who has been a local fisherman for nearly 28 years, told the Jamaica Observer.
He added to the Jamaica Star that he “found the body completely bitten by the shark.”
Jahmari Reid, 16, had gone spearfishing near the popular tourist town of Montego Bay.
Residents of the town of Falmouth gathered on the beach as the body was recovered.
Jahmari’s heartbroken father, Michael Reid (right), was on the beach when his son’s remains were brought back to land.
Robert said that when Jahmari’s body was brought to the surface, the huge tiger shark that he believes killed his nephew swam by. He and the other divers shot at the shark in hopes of killing it and recovering Jahmari’s head, but they missed.
The fisherman believes Jahmari died after catching a large fish and attracting the shark’s attention, which is believed to have decapitated the 16-year-old.
Images from the scene showed dozens of horrified locals gathered on the beach in the town of Falmouth on the island’s north coast.
Jahmari’s heartbroken father, Michael Reid, was on the beach when his son’s remains were washed ashore.
“I can’t believe that he went out to sea alone yesterday (Monday) and that was the result. It’s sad to know. I feel very bad,” he told Jamaican media.
The taxi driver said he had tried many times to dissuade his son from his hobby of underwater fishing and that they often argued about him going out.
Jahmari’s mother, Lavern Robinson, said through tears: “I don’t know what to say right now. Jahmari has been going to the ocean since he was little. He loves it and always goes out with his uncle. He was in 10th grade and was getting ready to move on to 11th.”
The head of a local fishermen’s association said this was the first time in recent history that someone had been killed by a shark in local waters.
The high school student is pictured with his father, taxi driver Michael Reid.
The attack occurred off the beach in the northern coastal town of Falmouth.
Fritz Christie suggested the shark may have followed a cruise ship into Falmouth Bay and warned spearfishermen to be very careful when approaching large vessels.
“What we need to do is make sure that when the boats come in, we’re careful with the divers. The shark ate the man’s head, it ate one of his hands. It’s crazy,” Christie said.
Falmouth police are reported to be investigating the tragedy.
Shark attacks are extremely rare in Jamaica: only three unprovoked attacks have been reported since 1749, according to the International Shark Attack File.
The most common shark in Jamaica is the nurse shark, which is docile and usually stays close to the sea floor.
Caribbean reef sharks, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and bull sharks have also been seen in Jamaican waters.
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