We begin tonight with the tragic drowning of a 17-year-old girl. The incident occurred around 1:00 this afternoon when Sue Liu and her father were attacked by bees near mile 7 on the Philip Goldson Highway. In the blink of an eye, Liu had slipped into the Belize River, likely to escape the swarm. But that part of the river is said to be about 20 feet deep and Liu couldn't get back to the surface.
In the hours between the attack and the discovery of her body, several Coast Guard officers and civilians scoured the water looking for her. And when they finally pulled her up, it was a tragedy made real. Courtney Menzies was at the scene and has this story.
This was the heartbreaking moment when 17-year-old Sue Liu's body was pulled from the murky depths of the Belize River. Her brother, upon realizing that his sister was indeed gone, broke down in tears, only to be consoled by the very men who'd spent the last three hours looking for her.
Liu was walking with her father and these three dogs along the highway when they were attacked by a swarm of bees nesting in a tree stump. They both ran a few feet ahead, trying to escape the stings. Passersby were assisting Liu's father, and sometime during the commotion, Liu went into the water and never came back up.
According to her brother, Liu and her father often walk along that same route, coming from their home in Lord's Bank. When her brother got to the scene, all he could do was wait for information.
“The thing is, it just happened, I just came here, I don't know anything but I'm trying to see what is happening.”
— Brother of Deceased
“What can you tell us about what she was doing in this area?”
— Reporter
“I'm not really sure how she came here because she walks with my dad, again I don't know what's happening, my aunt just called me to say she was walking here and this thing happened and I just hurry come here.”
— Brother of Deceased
“Do you guys live around here?”
— Courtney Menzies
“No, we don't live around here.”
— Brother of Deceased
“So she was walking kind of far?”
— Courtney Menzies
“I think so.”
— Brother of Deceased:
“Do you know if she can swim?”
— Reporter
“No, she can't swim.”
— Brother of Deceased
It was around 1 in the afternoon when she jumped in, but it wasn't until closer to 3:30 when her body was finally retrieved. The men who waded through those difficult waters were from 501 Lifeguard. Tevin Conorquie, who first located the body, explained what it was like:
“Honestly it was a little bit breathtaking due to the depth of the water. All we could have done was free dive and try to scan the area and see how fast we could have gotten the body out of the water. Due to the darkness of the water, it was intense for us to see but we still pulled through, we had the faith and the courage and we did what we had to do to get it out.”
— Tevin Conorquie, Lifeguard/Swimming Instructor, 501 Lifeguar
“How long were you guys in there?”
— Courtney Menzies
“Probably about 3 to 4 hours in the water.”
— Tevin Conorquie
“What was that moment like when you first felt something was there?”
— Courtney Menzies
“I felt excited to know at least we could have gotten the body out for the family because I know they feel this. I know it's tragic that their loved one is in the water and passed away due to drowning but thanks to the hope and faith of my team, we managed to get the body out of the water and bring it to the brother. If you noticed, he is the one that felt it the most.”
— Tevin Conorquie
“How difficult was it maneuvering deep dark waters like that?”
— Courtney Menzies
“Very difficult due to the fact that we know there may be crocodiles with us as well. But we have the faith and we have the courage.”
— Tevin Conorquie
And they shared some of that faith with Liu's brother when they circled him and said a prayer. The owner of 501 Lifeguard spoke to us about that moment.
Reporter:
"Beyond the search, your team is also consoling the family, what's that about?"
“You know with our team it's just love. We always give, we show love but we don't come out a lot but we show our respect to everybody. These guys were working teaching swimming classes and they wanted to leave the class but I told them we have to take three of the teams out, but the whole team is here, all the instructors are here. Thanks to my team, Tevin, and Chaplin.”
— Andrew Gentle, Owner, 501 Lifeguard/Coach Andrew Swim Club
And it was also emotional for members of the Belize Coast Guard, who were also assisting in the search.
“We got a call from police, Mr. Marciano, that an unfortunate incident had occurred where a young lady had jumped in the river as a result of being attacked by bees. And so he was asking for the assistance of the Coast Guard to do a dive operations to which we responded. It's never easy because you're talking about the loss of life. I've been a diver for years, I've recovered personnel, people who have been deceased in water and it's never easy. There were times when I myself shed tears because of the situation. Especially when you're talking about a young person such as the one today, so it's difficult for divers, for our people when you have to retrieve someone like this from the water knowing that their parents or loved ones are right here, sometimes you do become emotional.”
— Rear Admiral Gregory Soberanis, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
Liu's father is currently recovering in the hospital. The family also explained that Liu has an autism diagnosis and was living with just her father.
Authorities have since sprayed the area where the bees were nesting.
The search and rescue team included 8 civilians from 501 Lifeguard.
