Search continues for missing La Romaine couple

Samuel Montano and his girlfriend Zaheeda Mohammed. -

THE search for a missing La Romaine couple continued for a third day on August 5.

Volunteers Sham's Hunter's Search and Rescue Team was expected to launch a marine-based operation for Samuel Montano, 44, and his girlfriend, Zaheeda Mohammed, 36, on the evening of August 5.

Speaking to Newsday ahead of the search, the team's head, Shamsudeen Ayube, said they would use a boat to scour coastlines near San Fernando, La Brea, the South Oropouche River and mangrove near where the couple went missing.

The couple's last known whereabouts was at Montano's Freeman's Bay home, near Sunset Cove Extension. He was seen around 10 pm on August 2 by one of his relatives who lives nearby, while Mohammed last communicated with her relatives up to that evening via WhatsApp.

They were discovered missing around 9 am on August 3 when one of Montano's relatives went to visit him. Instead, the relative told Newsday the house was empty but filled with spent shells, bloodstains on the floor and a bloody trail leading to the nearby sea.

Newsday understands the Inter-agency Task Force and Coast Guard also conducted search operations on August 5.

The fate of the couple remains a mystery, but relatives fear they may have been killed. Some continue to hold out hope for their safe return.

Leading Seaman Grant look on as other Coast Guard divers go out in search of Samuel Montano and his girlfriend Zaheeda Mohammed at Freeman Bay, Sunset Cove, La Romaine on August 4. - Photo by Innis Francis

Investigators are also stumped as to what happened, but given the scenes at Montano's wooden home, they aren't ruling out the possibility that one or both of them may have been killed, or seriously injured and then taken to a boat out to the sea.

Crime scene investigators recovered about two dozen nine-millimetre, 5.56 and 40 calibre spent shells at the home. Seven of the casings had TTPS markings.

Coast Guard divers searched the sea and stream on August 4 without luck, while the police K9 Unit also used a sniffer dog to try to find the couple.

Montano's relative admitted to Newsday that he was no saint and would not rule out that they could have been attacked. She said he did two stints in prison, one of which was for drug-related charges. Police said he was known to them.

The couple do not have any children together, but Montano has a ten-year-old son from a previous relationship. Mohammed also has two children, an 18-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. Her husband, Claxton Bay fisherman Satyam Nanan, was gunned down in 2011 shortly before she gave birth to their daughter.

Following the disappearance, Assistant Commissioner of Police for South/Central Wayne Mystar called on members of the public with any information that may assist in locating the victims or identifying those responsible to contact the San Fernando Police Station or call 800-TIPS.