5 months ago
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Kieron Simon - For many, August 12 was just another day, where they went to work, fulfilled their various duties and eventually went home.
But for one family, that day was filled with bittersweet memories of missing coast guard officer, Able Seaman Kieron Simon, who went missing on February 20.
Relatives went to social media to remember Simon on August 12 – his birthday.
August 12 also marked 172 days since he disappeared at sea.
“I wish I could wake up and find out this was all just a bad dream, or that you would show up at the house with that mischievous smile and say it was just a prank, a silly joke that went too far,” said a relative on social media.
“I wish I could pick up the phone and call you today to say ‘Happy Birthday, Cuz,’ but instead, I’m still wishing that we, your family, could get the closure our hearts ache for.
“I miss our silly jokes, the way you could make me laugh even on the hardest days and how you always reminded me to stay the course no matter the obstacles. Your lifestyle was so regimented and you tried to instil that in us. One day, I hope our family gets the closure we desperately need.
“The public may eventually move on and forget this tragedy, but we, your close family, will never stop grieving, never stop hoping, never stop praying for answers.”
Simon, a father of three who has 18 years of service with the TT Coast Guard, was on a multi-national drug eradication operation between TT and Grenada when they intercepted a submarine vessel occupied by three Colombian nationals on February 20.
When the nationals were taken out of the submarine, Simon and another sailor made a check for any other people on the vessel.
But when Simon boarded, rough seas caused the submarine to overturn. Simon was trapped in the vessel as it submerged in the depths of the Caribbean Sea. The other sailor was thrown from the vessel as it overturned and was recovered by fellow Coast Guard officers shortly after.
English (US) ·