The intense search by air, sea and land carried out by federal and state authorities for the young Harold Carrión Butter, 23, who was thought to have drowned on the Poza del Obispo beach, in Arecibo, cost over $1.2 million, according to calculations. offered this Friday afternoon at a press conference held at the headquarters of the Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administrations (Nmead).
The search for the young man began last Tuesday at 7:45 pm, after his mother, Justinita Butter Torres, warned of the possibility that her son drowned on the beach. However, the young man appeared this Friday in an abandoned structure in a public park in the García de Arecibo urbanization.
It transpired that the young man had a case of gender violence. This was arrested by the Police.
The largest expense was incurred by the Coast Guard. The federal agency’s Search and Rescue coordinator, Alberto Martínez, said that the activation averaged an expense of “more than $1 million.”
“They are the types of boats and the types of resources that we use”he pointed out, indicating that they put into operation a plane that left Miami, two helicopters from the Aguadilla area and three boats that left San Juan.
For his part, the commissioner of the Nmead, Nino Correa, pointed out that the agency incurred an expense of over $200,000 for the activation of personnel, chaplains and divers for the search at sea.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Omar Álvarez, who represented the United Rapid Action Forces (FURA) police division, indicated that “it is difficult to make an estimate at the moment” of how much the activation they carried out to search for the young man cost the Puerto Rico Police. . He contended that he may have been in the $200,000 range that the PREMB spent.
He said the division has activated a boat and a helicopter to participate in this search.
“Raising a Coast Guard protocol ship is much more expensive than ours, but it is because of the type of ship. In addition to this, the Coast Guard was flying over the area for a longer amount of time than our ship did and what we had was a ship that was in the area all the time. But, it is a smaller boat (than the one used by the federal agency)”he mentioned.
It transpired that all this government spending cannot be recovered.
“These are services that are given to the community and it is not done with the line of being able to recover it (the expense). They are operational expenses that are there”said Correa.
“We do it because we are here for it and it doesn’t matter what the cost is. Putting a resource to save a life is priceless,” he added.
However, he commented that legislation is being evaluated in the Legislature to establish whether some type of recovery can be established when a person causes an intense mobilization after false testimony.
On the other hand, Correa accepted feeling outraged and saddened, because the reality was that the young man had not been dragged by the waves, but apparently decided to flee. He said, however, that they decided to help a mother who cried out for help to get her child.
“Within that indignation that we feel, well, we feel happy, because anyway the request of a mother was fulfilled. She asked us that she loved her son and, well, there she is ”he stated.
For his part, the federal official also said that “we share that outrage,” because “we are human.”
However, Martínez stated that “we will always be available and we will work together, as we did in this case.”
On the other hand, Correa left it up to the Police to have criminal consequences against Carrión Butter for the false disappearance.
“Through the investigation that is done, the full weight of the law will fall on this person,” he specified.
As part of the conference, the Nmead commissioner took the opportunity to urge people not to go to the beaches this long weekend, as they will be dangerous.
“You can do countless activities without getting your feet wet. I’m serious”released.
He recalled that these searches endanger the lives of many personnel who undertake the searches, and also leave psychological traces on them.
He also commented that the Poza del Obispo in Arecibo is dangerous, so people should choose to go to spas.