Family pleads to authorities to help find missing kin believed to have fallen off ship

This is a photo of Mark Lloyd Esco, a crew of a cargo vessel who allegedly fell off from the ship while it was sailing between Bohol and Camiguin last August 20, 2023 | Contributed photo via Shella Nuñez.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A family from Southern Leyte is now asking for help from authorities to help them locate their kin whom they believed fell off a ship while sailing around Camiguin Island last Sunday, August 20.

Mark Lloyd Esco went missing.

Fell off ship

And his relatives received information alleging that the 25-year-old crew member of MV Fortune Sea fell off the ship while charting the waters between Bohol and Camiguin islands on Sunday.

In an interview with CDN Digital, Esco’s cousin, Shella Mae Nuñez, said that his girlfriend was the one who last contacted him on Sunday.

“Nagvideo call daw to sila unya gibiyaan niya (Mark) kadyut kay iyahang girlfriend, nakadungog og kauban sa barko niingon og ‘tana mark magtiwas ta ug  silhig’,” Nuñez said.

(He had a video call with her girlfriend, but then he (Mark) left the call for a few minutes, she heard a co-worker of the boat telling hims ‘let’s go mark, let’s finish sweeping.’)

READ:  Samboan: Man dies after he accidentally falls off barge moored in wharf

Call from workmates

The following day, Monday, August 21, Esco’s mother got a phone call from one his workmates.

Apparently, the crew saw Esco had fallen off the ship while they were sailing the waters between Bohol and Camiguin islands last Sunday, Nuñez added.

Family not convinced

But the family was not convinced with the crew’s statements, saying they got different versions every time they inform the Escos.

“Nganong wa nila naluwas kung sila niingon mismo nga nakakita sila nga natagak siya sa barko?” said Nuñez.

(Why did they not save him when they say that they saw him fell of the boat?)

Stories did not match

According to Nuñez, during the first call, a crew member told Esco’s mother they reportedly saw him fell off the ship.

A few hours later, another phone from the same crew told the Esco family that rescue operations had been conducted, and that their chief engineer allegedly jumped into the waters with a life ring but returned empty-handed.

On the third version, they told Esco’s family that they only threw a rope to the sea but nothing tugged on it.

Another crew also said that the ship apparently suffered maneuvering difficulties when they tried to turn around to save their co-worker.

When the family asked the crew for more details, Nuñez said they failed to give them more details.

Confused family

“Naglibog gyud mi kay wa gyud siya nagtugma… Nangutana mi kung nagconduct sila og man overboard nga operation pero wa man sila katubag,” she said.

(We are confused because their stories did not match…We asked if they conducted a man overboard operation but they could not answer it.)

PCG contacted

Meanwhile, the family had already contacted the Philippine Coast Guard in Jagna and Eastern Bohol to verify the reports they got.

They will also be contacting the PCG in Northern Mindanao, said Nuñez.

For anyone who may have information on the missing Mark Lloyd Escol, you may contact his family through this mobile phone number: 0905 405 8658.

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