Cyclist who crossed Brazil on bicycle disappears on the border with Essequibo, in Guyana | Roraima

A 63-year-old man disappeared near the border between Brazil and Essequibo, in Guyana, while he was alone on a bicycle expedition that began in Chuí (RS), in the extreme south of the country, and was destined for Mount Caburaí, the most extreme point of Northern Brazil, in Roraima.

Missionary and cyclist George da Silva de Souza was in the municipality of Uiramutã (RR) when he last spoke to his family on March 27, a month ago.

His wife and son went to Boa Vista to follow the investigation, but have been without any new information since Wednesday (24).

“Last Sunday, a team was sent to Uiramutã, to gather information. On Wednesday, my mother called (…) and they said they were returning here to Boa Vista. Since then, we have not received any contact from them, nothing, absolute silence“, says Gregori de Souza, George’s son.

O g1 He contacted the Civil Police on Saturday night (26), but received no response until the publication of this report.

A retired soldier from the Brazilian Air Force, Geeorge began the expedition on April 19 last year in Arroio Chuí, which is on the border between Brazil and Uruguay, known for being the most extreme point in the south of Brazilian territory.

He arrived in Uiramutã, in the North of Roraima, on March 25th and from there he would continue his journey cycling to Monte Caburaí.

To the g1, Gregori said that his father always did this type of expedition, but this would be the most complex. He maintained frequent contact with his family throughout the trip.

“My father didn’t take any geolocation equipment, he did a preliminary mapping using Google Maps. The mapping he did was along the stretch that would pass through, in the communities, and took only a compass. Other than that he didn’t take any equipment,” said Gregori, George’s son.

The last time he spoke to the family, George said he would get in touch when he passed through an indigenous community. The last person he spoke to was his wife, via video call, at around 8:30 am on March 27th.

“We are desperate. Brothers, brothers-in-law, nephews, uncles, mother-in-law, everyone is very desperate wanting to know news and information. Me and my mother are here [em Roraima] We are tired and stressed with this issue, bureaucracy. We understand this issue from the authorities, but we wanted there to be urgency on the part of the authorities, and we are facing many barriers with the system itself”, said the son.

With no news, the family filed two missing reports. The first, made by the brother, was registered on April 11th at the Civil Police virtual police station. The second was registered by his wife on Monday (22) at the 1st Police District, after the family received information that he had been seen in Guyana.

In a statement, the Civil Police reported that investigators found that around 20 days ago George passed through the Uiramutã region and even slept in a church.

“In addition, residents of the region reported that they were with the missionary and warned him about the conditions of the road and the difficult access path. According to reports from people who were with him in the indigenous area, the schedule exposed by George is too tight to meet the aforementioned route within the period stipulated by him to his family members”, informed the Civil Police.

The deadline given by the missionary to the family to return from Monte Caburaí would be May 8th. Access to Monte Caburaí is difficult, there are no roads and only via trails in the middle of the dense forest.

The river area that borders Brazil and Guyana, where the Maú River and Uailã River are located, is also difficult to access. To cross the rivers, you need a boat and the help of local indigenous people.

“The Civil Police also informs that the region where George entered is in dense forest and without internet access, which makes communication efforts and possible rescue even more difficult” if George is in a Brazilian area, says the police note.

With the hypothesis of the crossing, the Roraima Police inform that they would not have jurisdiction to carry out searches in the neighboring country.

The Firefighters reported that they are maintaining direct contact with the family members and have advised them to contact the Guyanese Consulate in Roraima so that teams can carry out searches in the neighboring country, if it is confirmed that he has entered Guyanese territory.

“Their (the police officers’) claim is that they need authorization from Brasília to begin searches in Guyanese territory because the information that Lieutenant Chaves raised was that my father had been seen in a community there in British Guiana. So, the What we are asking is for this process to start, for this process to be speeded up”, says Gregori.

In 2002, 21 years ago, George went on a similar expedition that lasted 79 days. At the time, he left Uiramutã on a bicycle and went to Chuí. George lives with his wife in Bertioga, in the interior of São Paulo.