RESIDENTS of Majesty Gardens in St Andrew say that although 19-year-old Rahjaun Melbourne, who couldn’t swim, lost his life while trying to save a woman from drowning, they were glad that they found his body close to noon on Wednesday before it was eaten by crocodiles.

“Crocodile dung yah more time a hide, enuh,” one resident said.

“More time dem just pop up out a nowhere and dem definitely would a nyam him,” said another resident, pointing out that it was good his family has received closure and will get the chance to bury him.

Melbourne was washed away on Tuesday afternoon around 3:00 pm by flood waters in a gully that runs adjacent to Mandela Town and Seiveright Gardens in the Waltham Park Road area of St Andrew.

According to reports from people who said they witnessed the unfolding of events on Tuesday, Melbourne and a woman were among a group of people in the gully trying to get a set of pigs from the gully before flood waters swept the animals away when the woman was suddenly lifted off her feet and washed away by the gushing waters. The teen, they said, tried to save her from drowning, but got into difficulty and was swept away.

Fisherman Anthony Sutherland, who was called to assist, managed to pull the woman from a gully which runs through the community of Majesty Gardens but Melbourne was nowhere in sight. Following an intense search Wednesday the body of the teenager was found in the gully near Majesty Gardens.

Melbourne’s good friend Shevon Bennett was distraught but was still able to relate to the Jamaica Observer what he witnessed on Tuesday afternoon.

“Him shouldn’t jump in the water because him can’t swim. See it deh, the lady get saved. Him shoulda just run wid me along the banking. The lady was going after the hog when she get wash weh. Mi feel cut up. We deh inna di gully a try tek out di hog dem because we never want dem wash weh. Me and him stand up near di banking of the gully. A next youth did get wash weh but den him stand up back inna di water and jump up.

“After that, the lady start wash weh and she a bawl and a seh, ‘Help!’ A suh comes him jump off inna di water and gone. Him never look like him did a panic suh mi think seh him did alright. A nuff things him could a hold on pon before him reach dung yah suh. His intention was just to save the girl. The lady said she held on to something for a few minutes but him wash past her and come dung yah suh. The water got drastic for him,” Bennett said.

Melbourne’s brother, Brandon Isaacs, said his sibling was unable to say no when it came on to giving people a helping hand.

“It just come een like seh it nuh real. He was the type of youth who was helpful. To the way him helpful, it’s like him can’t say no. Him nice suh till him can’t even tell you that he can’t do something for you, but you have to business about yourself first before nobody else can business ‘bout you. Me couldn’t stop him heart from stay how it stay, but him go over limit, man. Him same one said he was sick and yet still him tek up himself and come out inna rain until him reach inna gully.

“A work mi deh and my sister call me and just start bawl. She tell me seh him wash weh inna gully from about three o’clock. I told them I can’t do any more work for the day because something just gwaan and mi haffi lef. Mi lef mi work and come over here. Mi nuh see nuh sight of him. Mi just see a lot of people pon the road and by them time deh it did get dark-up. Mi walk round inna di gully and a look and can’t see nothing. In the early morning one a mi friend dem father seh him ago go back down to that side and from about 6:00 am mi deh here suh. Fi tell you the truth, wi mother nuh have a stable mind right now,” Isaac said.

Although the search party was a large one, it was two young men — Shamar Lloyd and Anthony Copeland — who first stumbled upon the body of Melbourne and called the police.

According to Lloyd, “Me and mi family get up and seh we a go dung deh this morning and seh we ago look fi him. When we go dung deh, we see him a float. Mi hear mi family seh, ‘Yow, nuh him dat?’ He was down inna di water. Three a we pull him out of the water and put him pon the land and then we call in the people.”

Shane Williams, who was part of the larger search team, said he was motivated to get involved because he was told that anyone who found the body would receive a reward.

“From 5 o’clock we deh yah a search. We heard that there was a $1-million reward for anybody who find him, suh we search, we search and we search. One a di youth dem a use cutlass and a dig up di place. We decide fi spread out. Some go inna di bush and some go over causeway. Is like him float up eventually, so the last team weh come pon di scene, a dem find him. From Tuesday, we were out and we were up from five o’clock this morning,” Williams said Wednesday morning.

“I live in Majesty Gardens. I was doing some work and I heard screaming and people saying baby get wash weh. Mi run out and come straight down the road and head for the gully. Same time dem tek di woman out of the gully. A pig get weh and dem tek di pig out of the gully as well. We were searching right back until seven o’clock in the night. We told them that the youth cannot pass here suh because when we come crab bush, we see how the bush set and we know that he would be trapped down here,” Williams said.