BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – After going missing last Sunday, the body of Fayiah Kettor has been discovered on the Liberia Agriculture Company plantation following a major search effort by authorities.
Kettor, believed to be in his early 40s, had gone missing while receiving treatment at the Liberian Agricultural Company Hospital last week. An employee of LAC who works in the Factory Department, Kettor had been taken to the company’s health facility on March 22, 2019, after falling ill. He was diagnosed with typhoid and malaria.
His body was discovered by two traditional medicine practitioners on Saturday near Hogkins’ Camp, a ten-minute walk away from the hospital.
Kettor’s family brought him food while at the hospital last Sunday and after eating the food, he appeared to head to the bathroom. However, after a few hours, nurses at the hospital noticed that his bed was still empty. They became concerned and started searching for him across the facility.
The head nurse on duty at the time, Jamesetta Jualo, confirmed to investigators that Kettor held in his hands the empty dishes when he walked out of the hospital.
A few hours later, nurses at the hospital noticed that Kettor was still not in his bed. They became concerned and started searching for him across the facility.
After a massive search by investigators from Monday to Friday without any sign of locating the missing man, Kettor’s family members, with the financial support of the company, brought in the traditional medicine practitioners certified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to locate Kettor’s body.
The traditional search team, led by Babygirl Zoegar and Jonathan Kale, arrived on Saturday, March 31 and requested security guards as protection as they conducted their work.
Zoegar and another team member took a motorcycle directly to where the Kettor’s body was. He was found on a footpath with the dishes near him along with a black phone.
Upon locating the body, the county’s security team established a 15-person coroner jury to examine the body. The report has not yet been released. The body has been taken to the Abraham Roberts Funeral Home for preservation as investigation continues.
On Wednesday, police had arrested four of the nurses who were on duty, along with the hospital administrator, Momolu Johnson. They were brought to Buchanan to help with the investigation. Although Kettor’s body has been found, the arrested individuals remain under police custody.
Family members are demanding to know the cause of the death of the late Kettor.
Representative Vincent Willie is expected to visit the plantation soon, although it is not clear whether he will continue to call for an autopsy that he had earlier promised.
The representative had visited the plantation on Tuesday and Wednesday along with Grand Bassa’s Superintendent Janjay Baikpeh, when they called for cooperation with the police.
Grand Bassa’s police commander Sackor Freeman has assured Kettor’s family that a thorough investigation is ongoing and that anyone caught will be brought to justice.
Featured photo by Sampson David
