Still shots of the Grand Anse Beach paint a picture of the most desirable seaside location, but the beach itself holds its own deadly secrets. Known for being a great turtle watching spot, particularly from March until August, where leatherback turtles, the largest marine turtle in the world, come ashore to lay their eggs. For that reason, the beach is a major tourist and local attraction. Grand Anse beach is equally favoured by those wishing to embark on camping trips, but despite of this, the isolated beach that is about a mile long is not normally recommended for swimming.

On Monday morning it was announced on television news broadcasts that there were reports of a drowning at Grand Anse Beach over the weekend.

Calls to the police did not confirm the occurrence however until Monday afternoon, as there had been no reports of the incident made at any of the police stations on the island.

Like most of St Lucia, officers at the police press relations office said they’d been made aware of the incident on the news, but had made calls to several police departments, none of which had any record of the incident. The name of the victim was released by the police department late Monday; 17-year-old Miguel Houson who press officers said hailed from Desbarras, Babonneau.

On Monday the details of the incident were still sketchy as police attempted to contact the family and the Victoria Hospital for information.

The incident occurred between the hours of 11am and 1pm on Sunday. 17-year-old Miguel Houson was pronounced dead at about 3:50pm on Sunday afternoon at the Victoria Hospital.

On Monday there were concerns over whether the incident was being treated as a criminal matter since there were suspicions over why no report had initially been made to police.

While investigations are ongoing, police say it could be a matter where the family was not aware of the need to report the matter to police. The press department says a report was later made with the Gros Islet police station after the family was contacted.

The latest incident would not be the first drowning at Grand Anse Beach. One of the most talked about drownings was that of MP for Babonneau Kenneth John, who lost his life while attempting to save the life of a woman.

On websites relating to St Lucia and turtle watching most persons who comment discourage others from swimming at the Grand Anse Beach.

“This beach is normally rough and is not suitable for bathing for most people. Although there are people who bath there, because of the large waves, I only go there for turtle watching,” read a comment on st-lucia-vacation-guide.com.