Efforts continued today until sunset with the added assistance of two search dogs from the French Fire Department from Saint Martin.
11:00 a.m. today marked 72 hours since he had last been seen, a critical point in the search.
At 9:30 p.m., it has been 82 hours since he had last been seen in the Well’s Bay area. Based on this timeline and advice from medical teams, the nature of our search therefore has turned from rescue to recovery. This means that it is unlikely that the missing person will be found alive. This search will continue tomorrow after the arrival of a team of USAR, consisting of 11 persons and 9 dogs.
Since the evening of May 13th, several search teams have been deployed trying to locate Mr. Matthijsen. These combined efforts included drones, two helicopters, coast guard boat, teams led by experienced local hikers, marines, and the dash patrol airplane as well as significant assistance by staff of the contractor of the Mt. Scenery Tower Project.
“This comes with a sense of defeat, that we all can resonate with, and our hearts go out to Mr. Matthijsen’s family, friends and his colleagues during this extremely difficult time,” said Island Governor Jonathan Johnson. To view Governor Johnson's statement, visit our Youtube Channel at https://youtu.be/i0zpqU-ddz4?si=dHsy1G6FsIfJBspq
Acknowledgment is made to our hardworking crisis and safety partners, including the police department, fire department, Saba Conservation Foundation, Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, Dutch Marines, Ministry of Defence, National Crisis Center, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and USAR.
Timeline
13 May – Local authorities received reports of a missing hiker: Erik Matthijssen. He had last been seen at around 11 a.m.in the Wells Bay area, and did not return to his accommodation.
Matthijssen is a medic on the team of the contractor hired by the Ministry of Defence to work on the Mount Scenery Tower project.
Initial searches were made in the evening on the roads from Fort Bay towards Well’s Bay, as well as with thermal imaging drones. The use of the drones carried on well into the night and restarted in the early morning of the next day.
14 May – 4 ground teams (consisting of 6 people each) went along trails in the identified search area. Drones were extensively used to check areas that the ground teams could not cover.
At the same time, a coast guard team that had been stationed in Sint Eustatius began searching coastal areas from their boat along with drone assistance. Additionally, the Coast guard flew over with the DASH patrol airplane to get a better aerial view. The helicopter of the Mt. Scenery Project did the same.
Marines from the Detachment on Sint Maarten arrived in the afternoon and immediately proceeded onto the trails to support the search. As temperatures cooled, drones with thermal imaging were used again.
15 May – At around 5:15 a.m., Marines continued the search, again using thermal drones in identified areas. Search efforts continued throughout the day, including with support from the helicopter from the Mt. Scenery Project and the medical evacuation helicopter.
16 May –Searches continued in the early morning. In the afternoon two dogs and handlers arrived on the island from the French Fire Department based on Saint Martin. Combined search teams with the assistance of these dogs were conducted until sunset.
