The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

IT HAS been one year since 49-year-old Rufus Frederick Storr disappeared in waters off Cabbage Beach and his family still have “no idea” what happened to him.

Family members gathered to remember the father of three yesterday and renewed calls for answers to his disappearance.

Storr disappeared in waters off Cabbage Beach in mid-August, 2013. Police have released few details, other than to say he was last seen on Paradise Island around 3:15pm on Sunday, August 18.

According to Tribune sources, it is thought that Storr disappeared after he took a woman, an employee of the Ocean Club, for a ride on his jet ski.

Sources said the pair left the beach, but only the woman was found in the water about half an hour later.

She was reportedly wearing Storr’s life jacket, but he was nowhere in sight. His jet ski was discovered a few minutes later against some rocks.

At that time, the woman was said to have told police she and Storr went for a ride on the jet ski, and he decided he wanted to go for a swim when they were in deep water.

She said she told him she did not know how to swim, so Storr left her on the jet ski and went alone.

The woman claims he never resurfaced. She was picked up a short time later by a passerby in a boat.

Sandra Ferguson Rolle, Mr Storr’s aunt, said the family has not had any answers from police or the woman who was the last person to see him, but they are still holding on to hope that he is alive.

“Today is exactly one year since he disappeared and we still know thing,” Mrs Rolle said.

“We have gotten no new information from the police and honestly they aren’t working with us like how we thought they should have been. We took information to the police many times and they didn’t do anything with it. He is still being considered as a missing person and they said it will take about seven years before he can be officially declared dead. We are at least hoping by December, which is his birthday (month), to learn something.”

Mrs Rolle said the family believes that if Mr Storr is not alive, then someone did something to him because he had been swimming and diving for 21 years.

“This is just strange to us. For someone to just disappear just like that, especially someone who has water experience, 19 years on the Defence Force, 21 years of personal diving, it just doesn’t make sense. We haven’t even heard from the woman who was on the jet ski with him. No one is saying anything to us, but we still have hope that he is alive, there is no evidence he is dead so we will keep praying and hoping.”

Family members released balloons into the air at Cabbage Beach as a tribute to Mr Storr.