A missing Babonneau man who appeared disoriented after a search party found him on Saturday succumbed shortly afterward.
Family members had reported 38-year-old Garvin Avril missing from the previous day.
The search party found him in a forested area.
A close family member told St. Lucia Times that Avril, a heavy drinker, had a friend who died recently.
The family member said he discovered Avril, a pastry baker, was missing at about minutes to 5:00 am on Friday.
His door and the windows to his room were unusually open.
Later that day, when Avril did not show up, the family approached the Babonneau Police Station with a missing person’s report and went looking for him.
On Saturday, the search continued, eventually locating the missing man in a forested area of Babonneau.
“We found him on a stone, sitting down as if he was gone. He was speaking to himself. His feet were in the water. When we took him out he was responding,” the close relative recalled.
He said the search party escorted Avril out of the bushes, helping him up a hill.
According to the relative, Avril was ‘a big guy’ recovering from a broken leg.
“Reaching half way to the main road, he stopped. We gave him water and he said he can’t make it again. We sat him down and after a couple of minutes we saw his eyes were rolling to the back of his head and that’s where he took his last breath,” the family member, who preferred to speak anonymously, said.
He said Avril died in the arms of one of his male siblings.
“He did a long journey during the night. I don’t know if he forgot his way home,” the relative stated.
He told St. Lucia Times he believes a combination of Avril’s heavy drinking and the death of his friend may have caused the deceased, who had no mental issues, to ‘trip’ and ‘go haywire.’
The family and community members are still trying to come to terms with the death.
Avril family from babonneau is a small family but I think I know because of his age but sad young people just died like nobody business
Yeah? Very sad story. Hope the good Samatarians didn’t panic before thinking. What about diabetic shock or even hyperthermia, we have a habit of giving persons cold water to drink when body temperature is high, maybe these are the kinds of PSAs we should have circulating over the media. Diabetic shock or hypoglycemia can mimic alcohol intoxication. May he RIP
@Hmmm you are very correct. They should’ve called the paramedics as soon as they found him but these situations are tense and ppl don’t think straight when they are not used to dealing with things like that. Very sad. RIP
Very sad indeed Rip young man. Condolences to the family
Let’s look out and reach out to our fellow man. Mental health is something we should all take seriously. My sincere condolences to the family
@Anonymous September 9, 2024 At 11:16 am – Lucians have more mad people outside than inside trust me. We often prefer to talk someone down, chastised them etc etc. to prove to themselves that they know what is right and will not do anything to help the individual who is suffering. This nasty behavior have manifested its way across the isle. If we are a god abided nation, why god turn its back on us why?