Presumed Located Grand Cayman, Sarah Bodden, 50's, Bodden Town, 1943 or 1944

A Bodden Town man believes bones found by a member of the public in September last year could be those of the late Sarah Bodden, a woman from the district who disappeared in the 1940s.

The bones were discovered in Bodden Town during the renovation of a hurricane-damaged house. A forensic examination determined the bones had been in the ground for about 75 years.

Ms. Bodden went missing around 1943 or 1944, when she was in her early 50s, according to 79-year-old Neville McCoy. Her disappearance remains an unsolved mystery.

Click to expand...

Forensic archaeologists and anthropologists in the U.S. examined the bones, which were sent from Cayman last year, and determined the remains had been in the ground for more than seven decades.
The examination did not find any obvious cause of death or injuries, police said in a statement. “Due to these factors, the bones are not subject to any further legal or medical investigation,” a Royal Cayman Islands Police Service spokesman said.

The RCIPS spokesman added that police enquiries “have been unable to determine who the remains may have been.” Forensic checks were unable to confirm the gender of the remains nor obtain DNA from them as the bones were extremely degraded, police said.

Click to expand...

Mr. McCoy believes Ms. Bodden may have been collecting firewood when she went missing.

He said it was standard practice for women in the district to collect firewood late in the evening to use for cooking. It was the only source of energy in those days and was used for cooking, ironing and smoking out mosquitoes. Ms. Bodden was last seen by her brother, the late Adler Bodden, the evening she left the family home, located opposite Thomas Russell Beach in Bodden Town, according to Mr. McCoy.

When Ms. Bodden did not return home by sunrise the next morning, her brother raised the alarm. A massive search was organized with every able-bodied man in the district. Even turkey vultures, known as “John Crow” birds, were flown in from Jamaica by the government to aid in the search. They eventually died from starvation, Mr. McCoy said.

Click to expand...