Missing Arnett youth was battling for custody of beloved son
Published:Friday | July 5, 2024 | 12:09 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Alrick Moncrieffe, the Arnett Gardens man reportedly washed away by waters in a channel on Wednesday, was scheduled to appear in the Family Court on Thursday to make his case for regular access to his two-year-old son.
Moncrieffe was reportedly swept away after trying to retrieve a ball from the drain while playing a game of football during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
The security guard has been engaged in an ongoing struggle to visit his son, ever since the child’s mother relocated with the boy to a rural community.
Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, while relatives, friends, and community members from Arnett Gardens searched the Sandy Gully and drains below Marcus Garvey Drive to locate Moncrieffe, Sylvia Knight expressed how her 20-year-old nephew loved his child.
“I know he had good things in store for him and his son. Mi know that because him work hard ... . Today was a court date for him and him mada and di babymada fi decide who fi keep the baby or what,” Knight told The Gleaner.
“Mi nuh know if a dat trigger him off,” she said, adding that Moncrieffe was looking forward to attending court.
“Him babymada tek di child and gone a country with it, so dem always a seh him want him son ... . A lady come hug me up and seh all him de pan a seh him want him son, him want him son,” Knight shared.
A resident of Arnett Gardens, who was part of the search party, told The Gleaner that she did not believe that he was suicidal but genuinely went for the ball in the rushing water.
“I don’t think him jump in because of the court case. He wanted to see his son, yes, but he was playing, and he was only trying to get the ball,” she said.
Knight said that Moncrieffe’s first job was with her company, where he remained about four years before getting a job as a security guard.
A body, initially believed to be that of Moncrieffe’s, was found in Port Henderson, Portmore, yesterday during a search.
However, due to the state of the body, it could not be identified.
That identification will now be done during a post-mortem or through forensic tests.
Knight said the tragic event has dealt a hard blow to Moncrieffe’s family, relatives, and persons who knew and loved him.
“We a tek it hard, very, very hard,” she said.
The young man numbered among residents who disobeyed the curfew orders imposed on Wednesday as persons were instructed to remain inside their homes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as the hurricane passed.
His aunt says the youth, who was affectionately called ‘Kalanji’ and ‘La La’, was very reserved.
“He was a quiet, humble youth. Kalanji nuh talk. Kalanji nuh talk. Kalanji quiet, quiet, quiet. Him nuh give trouble. Him just play him football and gaa him work and play him game. Him nuh trouble people,” the aunt said while weeping.
“Anybody know Kalanji can say the same thing bout Kalanji. Him is not a violent person,” she said.