A MYSTERIOUS and deadly phenomenon has gripped the small island of Antigua for over a decade. Despite its white-sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, the island has seen a troubling number of unexplained disappearances. The latest to vanish without a trace is Trinidad and Tobago national Thomas Vasquez, adding a chilling new chapter to a growing list of unresolved cases.
Vasquez first visited Antigua in 2024 after being invited by a fellow Trinidadian, a Rastafarian priest. He spent eight weeks working on what was believed to be a legal marijuana farm.
However, a police officer involved in the investigation told Newsday on May 2 that although a licence is required to operate such a facility, the farm may not have had the proper documentation, despite being a long-standing and widely known operation.
After returning to Trinidad, Vasquez travelled back to Antigua on October 8 for work. The officer said Vasquez may have travelled undetected by boat between other islands.
“He may have made some runs by sea: what we do know is he went to Trinidad on a plane on April 6, spent a week, and returned to Antigua on April 14.”
The officer questioned why the Office of Strategic Communications (STRATCOM), the communications arm of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda (RPFAB), had yet to issue a missing persons bulletin. He noted this marked a significant departure from standard procedure.
According to reports, on arriving, Vasquez visited a bar with a friend and later spent the night at the home of a couple he knew. When he landed his employer picked him.
The couple dropped him back at the farm in Glanville between 9 and 10 am on Tuesday, April 15. That was the last time anyone saw him. The woman was the first to raise the alarm about his disappearance.
She contacted his distraught mother, Candy Jageshar. The farm’s supervisor claimed Vasquez spent the entire day sleeping on the premises. Concerned by his prolonged silence, the couple eventually visited the Willikies Police Station to file a missing person's report.
As of this publication, Vasquez’s family has received no official updates or communication from the Antiguan police. Individuals in Antigua acting on behalf of the family allege they have been met with hostility when seeking information.
Adding to the unease is the fact that one month before Vasquez’s disappearance, another employee of the same farm was found dead. Twenty-seven-year-old Jahkeem Browne was discovered on the morning of March 24 at the site of the former Bruce’s Night Club in Hatton. He had been shot. Investigations into Browne’s death remain ongoing.
Despite mounting concerns, no official statement had been issued by authorities. That changed in part by a viral Facebook post from Vasquez’s mother. Roughly ten days later, former government minister and veteran journalist Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, the country’s first female acting prime minister, discussed Vasquez case on her morning radio show on Observer Radio.
She had read Jageshar's Facebook post, and Quinn-Leandro st
