The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE twin sister of one of the passengers killed in Sunday’s tragic plane crash, said yesterday that she is still living in denial, hoping that when the phone rings the voice on the other end of the line is that of her loved one.

Ranel Pierre, the twin sister of Radel Parks, 33, who died with her husband Lavard “Manifest” Parks, 34, their son Johanan, 5, and six others, including Bahamas Faith Ministries senior pastor Dr Myles Munroe and his wife Ann, said she not only lost a best friend, but a confidant.

At times overcome by grief, Mrs Pierre recalled the last day that she spent time with the family. It was just hours before they boarded the ill-fated Lear 36 executive jet headed for Grand Bahama.

The Tribune visited Mrs Pierre at her home yesterday where she was surrounded by loved ones who gathered to mourn and support each other just two days after the horrific plane crash.

She said: “They came here Sunday, the very day that it happened, after they came from church. They just pulled up as they always would for dinner, but I didn’t know she was travelling (until she came here). I think they decided that at the last minute.”

She said after the family ate some sandwiches they sat on the couch and talked for a while.

“I just told her to message me when she got there,” Mrs Pierre said. “I told her I love her as we always do and I hugged Jojo, told him I love him. We talked about how well travelled he was because he was always travelling with them in the ministry.”

Mrs Pierre said she never imagined that Sunday would be the last time she would see her sister, nephew and brother-in-law.

As news of the crash spread on Sunday afternoon, Mrs Pierre said she was helping a close friend prepare for a wedding and dismissed the claims as being only rumours.

“Somebody said, ‘Did you hear about Pastor Myles’ plane crashing in Freeport today?’  Then I stopped what I was doing and I said ‘I need to find out if this is true because my sister and those flew in today and I haven’t heard from them.’ I tried to call people.

“When I finally got through again to (BFM) Pastor Dave’s (Burrows) house a lady was there and she told me to go down to the church because everyone was going down to the church.

“To me that was a sign because if it wasn’t true I wouldn’t have needed to go down to the church, but I still went. When I got there, a lot of people were outside.

“A group of them came and told me it is true, that they were on the flight. I told them that it could not be true and I won’t accept that. I then heard my husband crying because he had gotten the report from a reliable source. It was then that I just started crying because I realised that it was true.

“My sister would have messaged me. It was our practice. If any of us travelled as soon as we got to our destination and settled in we would (message) and say that we reached safely. She never did.”

Mrs Pierre said as their family grapples with the loss of three lives and an unborn child, people who came into contact with them should remember the legacy that they left behind. As reported by The Tribune this week, Mrs Parks was pregnant at the time of the crash.

She added that the couple gave selflessly to God’s work and helping others.

“You know people might say they were friends, a father, a mother or a sister. But they were so much more than that. They were life changers. If they were a part of your life, they affected you. You could never forget them, they left an imprint on your heart, on your life.

“I have never ever met anyone more talented than her. She was very intelligent and when she spoke she spoke like an older person. Lavard was the exact same way.

“They might not be here physically, but I could never forget them because they are a part of me.”

In the coming days, loved ones are expected to plan a memorial and funeral for the Parks family.

The plane crashed just after 5pm on Sunday after the Lear jet clipped a crane at the Grand Bahama Shipyard before going down in a nearby junk pile.

Officials said yesterday that they located the aircraft’s black box as investigators try to figure out what led to the deadly crash.