Community Seeks Closure In Drowning of Three Boys - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

FEDERALSBURG, Md. - A community in Federalsburg comes together in an attempt to find closure in the tragic drowning of three young boys.

"When you lose one soul in a community, it's a tragedy. We lost three good souls and it's affected the whole town," Mayor Bill Beall said.

12-year-old Vladimir Jacotin, his 11-year-old cousin, Christopher Gabriel and 6-year-old Yamoude Dona were found dead in Marshy Hope Creek last week. The investigations unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources call the drowning an accident. Police say the investigation will close once they receive an autopsy report from the medical examiner's office. Members of the Haitian community think otherwise. "This was really unexpected. So, because of that element of not knowing is there, I think everyone's thinking a little too hard. There's some fear in the community and we're trying to calm as many people as possible so that we're not imagining things," Senior Pastor of the First Church of God Peter Smith said.

Family members pull together and remain strong. "We see that if we go crazy and react a certain way, the community will react a certain way. I want my nephew and our cousins to rest in peace and not everybody come up with such vicious rumors," Margarette Derosieros said.

A large crowd attended a candlelight vigil Saturday night in the parking lot of the First Church of God - where the boys were reportedly last seen. "We chose the color white to represent the innocence and the purity of the three children," cousin Whideline Louis said.

The outpouring of community support was tremendous. "It wasn't just a Haitian community that came together. Everybody in the community came together for this event," Louis said. "A couple brothers in town actually sold lemonade and they raised a couple hundred dollars. Banks have been supportive- local businesses have been sending in sizeable donations," Pastor Smith said.

The funeral was held on Sunday. The families are still accepting donations for funeral and burial costs. You can send them to the First Church of God or the Framptom Funeral Home in Federalsburg.