KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Relatives and friends of Shanika Small will have to wait longer yet to know if the decomposing body found in Welcome on Oct. 30 is that of the 20-year-old Dauphine resident who went missing on Oct. 23.
Commissioner of Police Keith Miller said on radio last night that police were yet to receive the results of samples sent for DNA testing.
“We have sent across the samples for testing and we are still awaiting … the results,” said Miller, who was a guest of a talk show.
Small’s disappearance is a mystery that captured the attention of the nation after it became public that her last communication was to text message a friend saying, “call 911’.
There were also doubts about whether the body found in October was Small’s since a female teenage, who has since been reunited with her family, was also missing.
Further, there were initial concerns about the size of the body and the extent of decomposition relative to the length of time Small was missing.
However, experts later said that the weather in the area where the body was found could have hastened decomposition.
The body was too decomposed to allow Small’s mother, Sheryl Small, to make a positive identification. But she later identified clothes on the body as that of her daughter.
Police, however, say that DNA tests are needed to make a definite identification.