Police probe suspect’s drowning

The Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations have launched an investigation into an incident involving the drowning of a male suspect in Bog Walk, St Catherine, yesterday.

He has been identified as 73-year-old Melton Smith, a farmer of Mickelton Meadows, Linstead, also in the parish. Reports indicate that at 1 p.m., Smith, who was a suspect in an alleged case of abduction and carnal abuse, was being transported from Linstead to Spanish Town when, upon reaching the vicinity of the Flat Bridge, he reportedly jumped from the service vehicle and fell into the Rio Cobre. He was assisted from the river by police personnel and the Fire Brigade and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.