Employees at the Soil Conservation Unit, Haggatts, St Andrew operation are extremely puzzled about their co-worker Charmaine Marcia Watkins, the subject a police missing person bulletin for the last 30 days.
Even more confusing to them is the fact that while she has not reported to work since Friday September 6, the 52-year-old woman has reportedly been spotted on numerous occasions and as recently as this week.
Police say she left her residence at Vauxhall, Christ Church, which is also occupied by her mother, Yvonne Watkins, on August 26 around 6:45 a.m and has not returned. In response to the most recent reports, police are asking anyone with information on the matter to speak up.
On Friday, workers told Barbados TODAY Watkins was seen in the Bridgetown area and around St James on separate occasions.
When contacted, Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir under whose portfolio the Soil Conservation Unit falls said he could not address the matter at the time. While he promised to respond later in the day, Barbados TODAY’s efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful.
At Haggatts, Bernard Thompson, the officer reportedly in charge of the operation and listed on LinkedIn as a Senior Agricultural Assistant informed Barbados TODAY through a secretary that he had no authority to speak on the matter.
However, Watkins’ concerned co-workers weighed in on the situation. Many described the missing woman as a “very nice” person who would do her best to accommodate workers. One worker said in the days leading up to her reported disappearance, Watkins appeared very distant and introverted.
“She was very nice. It’s only coming onto the time she went missing, she started becoming very anti-social and it seemed she wasn’t speaking to people,” one employee reported.
But contrary to recent reports, he said coworkers reported seeing Watkins as recently as this week in the area of Orange Hill.
“It is alleged that another worker saw her on Swan Street,” he added.
While on his lunch break, one worker said he was initially very concerned that his coworker had been harmed. But those fears subsided because “everybody at work is seeing this person”.
“I don’t understand what kind of searching police are doing” he said. “She was spotted in St James and then only yesterday I heard she was spotted in Bridgetown again. So she seems to be good.
“She’s a very nice person. She would come to work and tell everybody good morning and then she would be on her way. She was always ‘bouncy’. She wasn’t here long enough for us to get to know her on a very personal level. The thing about the office is that you don’t really know what is going on,” said the puzzled worker.
Another recalled the missing woman would oversee the interest of workers, write jobs letters on their behalf and regulate their vacations.
“I was on vacation and I came back and heard about the situation, but I didn’t know her well. It had me shocked, that’s the truth,” he said.
On previous occasions, efforts to gain more information from the missing woman’s family proved unsuccessful and a relative informed Barbados TODAY they would no longer be offering comments.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Rodney Inniss confirmed Watkins was still on their missing persons list and said if persons have seen her, they ought to tell the police.
“If anybody reports that they have seen her, they would be encouraged to contact the police so we can sort this matter out, ensure that she is safe and in good health,” he said. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb
