NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas government says it will continue to update the population regarding the discovery of the bodies of two nationals in a river in Italy last week.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the bodies of Foreign Service Officer Alrae Ramsey, and of Psychology Ph.D. student, Blair Rashad Randy John, had been “pulled out of the waters on Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5 by Italian authorities”.
It said that autopsies are expected to be performed on the bodies on Monday “to determine the exact cause of death”.
Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been “aware of reports circulating regarding two young Bahamian men, who have been reported missing in Turin, Italy.
“Newspapers are reporting the discovery of the body of a male believed to be a Bahamian, which was pulled from the river in the area of the Isabella Bridge in Turin.”
Bahamian ministry investigating matter
The Ministry said at the time that it was “investigating this matter with the appropriate authorities in Turin, as well as with Bahamian authorities” and that a senior diplomat from the Bahamas High Commission in London had been sent to Turin to speak with police and other officials, in order to verify the facts”.
In its latest statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ambassador Ellison E. Greenslade, a former police commissioner, had arrived in Italy over the last weekend and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Darren Henfield had also spoken with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Italy in relation to the investigation”.
The statement said that the discussions also centered on the ‘possible timeline in relation to the bodies of both young men being returned home for burial”.
Alrae Ramsay
Ramsey was employed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since December 9, 2013. Formerly, he was posted at The Bahamas Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as Third Secretary/Vice-Consul in 2016-2017. In 2018 he was granted an In-Service Award to pursue a one-year Postgraduate Diploma program in Diplomacy/International Relations and Languages at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Austria for the period September 2018 to June 2019.
Blair Rashad Randy John
John was nearing the completion of his Ph.D. in Psychology at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada and had travelled to Turin to make a psychology conference presentation on behalf of the university.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep the public updated as details of the investigation continue to unfold. And has asked the public to join in praying for the families, in the wake of such tragedy,” the statement added.
