Fingerprint comparisons have confirmed that the badly decomposed body of a man found inside a huge tiger shark, which was caught off the Exuma chain last week, is that of Judson Newton, a boater who went missing off western New Providence in late August, according to police.
On September 4, the remains were discovered inside the 12-foot shark. Three Three Bahamian fishermen who caught the shark reported to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force that the shark regurgitated the body-parts. Police said that fingerprints initially confirmed that it was Newton’s remains late last week, however they added that DNA samples from a male relative will be taken in the upcoming days for DNA confirmation. At the time of the discovery, the fishing-vessel was about 35 miles south of New Providence near the Exuma chain.
The gruesome discovery was made after defence force personnel escorted the fishing boat and its crew back to the Coral Harbour Base that morning; where the shark was dissected, and other body parts were discovered.
Since then police have conducted interviews and collected samples for further processing. Newton was one of two men who were reported missing by family and friends after a boating trip in waters off Jaws Beach on August 29.
Newton and his friend of 30 years, Franklin Roosevelt Brown, were part of a group of five men aboard the boat that reportedly experienced engine trouble that evening.
Just days after they went missing The Guardian met with more than a dozen family members and friends, who had banded together to search the western New Providence shoreline.
Over the past two weeks the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) had come under fire from family members of both men. The military organization’s Coral Harbor Base is located a few miles from where the men went missing. Both families said they had to form their own search parties after the two went missing.
While admitting that they were assisted by a RBDF patrol craft the day the men went missing, family members claimed they had little assistance from the RBDF in the days following the tragic event.
In a press statement, issued three days after they went missing, the RBDF admitted receiving a distress call around 8:00pm on August 29, from five men who were reportedly aboard a 20-foot white century vessel in waters off Clifton Pier.
“The defence force patrol craft discovered the vessel with three male occupants onboard,” said the statement. “The marines were informed that two other male individuals had entered the waters with the intent to pull the vessel to safety, and were feared missing.”
The statement added that the patrol vessel HMBS P-49 searched the area before towing the distressed vessel and its three occupants into the Coral Harbor Base shortly after 11:00pm.
It added that the following morning, a dive team from the defence force was dispatched to the area to conduct a thorough search for the missing men.
Source: The Nassau Guardian
