Samuel Macharia was due to celebrate his 17th birthday on Tuesday, instead friends, family, schoolmates and the Tweed Coast Community spent the week hoping that he’d walk through the door.
An orphan from Kenya, Samuel captured the hearts of the community since arriving here five years ago and became part of a Tweed Coast family and the entire community.
We were a region in shock when the talented young soccer player, who had trialled with Gold Coast United, went missing at Cabarita Beach on Sunday afternoon.
Inspector Gary Cowan from Tweed Heads Police, who has co-ordinated the search this week, said surf lifesavers from along the Coast from Fingal to Caba had rallied to find the missing teen, joining police, his worried family, Coast Guard, Marine Rescue life guards and rescue helicopters.
“We have had surf lifesavers from Byron right to the border,” Insp Cowan said.
“We couldn’t have done this without them.”
He said police divers had been brought in on Wednesday and after days of hoping, the search had become a recovery operation.
However large members of the community were still holding vigils, as they had all week, along the Coast at Cabarita Beach/Bogangar and Insp Cowan was co-ordinating the operation from Norries Headland.
Samuel’s disappearance after going for a run and swim on Sunday afternoon has also hit his schoolmates and teachers at the Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School very hard.
The School took immediate action and organised an assembly in first period on Monday to share the sad news with staff and students and to advise of support services being available for members of the School community who may need to share and discuss their feelings.
School Principal, Mr Chris Duncan, said, “The missing student is a very popular member of the Lindisfarne Grammar community and our thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family during this very difficult time as they wait to hear further details from the Police.”
The School also advised current Year 10 families of the situation by sending an email to both home and student addresses advising that they are able to access available support services to assist them at this point in time.
