Daughter rattled as father missing for nine days found dead

WESTERN BUREAU:

The last time 19-year-old Abonique Jones saw her father, Tristan Jones, on April 2 he was alive, well and full of life. She never knew that two weeks later she would be looking down at his lifeless body, leaving her to mourn his loss.

“I fainted. I saw the body, but was still in disbelief. Everybody knows the bond my father and I had. There is not one day we don’t call and check on each other,” Jones told The Gleaner, in explaining the special relationship they shared.

The elder Jones, popularly known as ‘Eddie’, was reported missing on April 4 and his body found on April 13 in bushes near Duncans, Trelawny, in a state of decomposition. His motorcycle was a short distance from his body.

Superintendent Winston Milton, the police commander for Trelawny, believes his death was due to an accident as there were no signs of foul play.

The deceased, who was a 44-year-old tradesman, was described as a “devoted father” to his four children – three girls and a boy. According to Jones, who is still reeling from the passing of her mother, who died a few years ago, she is devastated by the passing of her father, who, in addition to his trade, also cooked and sold food in Falmouth, the parish capital.

“He was the best father I could ask for. He made sure that I was okay. I don’t have a mother, so he was the only one I had,” said the grieving Jones. “Mi never have an altercation with him. I could talk to him about anything.”

According to Jones, her father discovered that his motorcycle had a mechanical issue when he was leaving a ‘wake’ in Duncans on the morning he went missing. He was expected to arrive home in Falmouth, but did not show up. She believes that the defective motorbike played a major role in his demise.

MECHANICAL ISSUES

“He went to a nine-night; however, he called someone about 2:20 in the morning, stating that his bike brake wasn’t working. He didn’t make it back to Falmouth. They were calling back his phone and got no answer. I think he ran off the road. The evidence is there to prove that,” explained Jones.

The nine days before her father’s body was found were like ‘hell,’ Jones told The Gleaner, as she wondered what could have become of her beloved.

“I was crying until mi eye dem swell. I cried every day at work. I even texted his phone a couple times, asking him if he really hate mi that much fi leave and know [ing that] him alone mi have,” she said. “Mi just know mi life is a living hell without mi daddy. Mi nuh know who mi can sit and talk to now,” said the grieving Jones.

While reflecting on her father’s life, Jones revealed memories of her final visit with him. She said he called and asked her to take her one-year-old child to see him in Falmouth and she obliged, not knowing it would be the last time she would have been seeing him alive.

“He was calling to say that I should take his granddaughter to Falmouth to look for him, so I went there on Wednesday. That was the last day I saw him, but I called him on Thursday morning to ask if he was alright. That was the last time I spoke to him,” she said.

“It is rough. Mi actually nah think about it. Mi still in disbelief because mi have a likkle baby, and if mi think ‘bout it mi nah go focus,” said Jones. “He was very fun to be around. Everybody can tell you, he was fun. He would always make us laugh and ensure that everybody was alright. It is a big loss.”

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com