The government is considering reducing the time for a person to officially be declared dead, according to Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands.

It’s a burning concern for many considering that hundreds of people are still missing in hurricane torn Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Currently, it could take up to seven years for a person to be declared dead.

“Bear in mind that this is not something that you can just pull out of thin air. It requires consideration of the implications,” Dr. Sands said yesterday.

“What were to happen if they declared Duane Sands to be dead and then six months later he shows up? Does he get to retrieve his real property? Does he get to now pay back the life insurance on his life?” 

“These are serious questions.  So while there is a need for closure, I think we have to be very careful and think this through very carefully and I suspect what will happen is we come up with an intermediate.”   

The minister of health also told reporters of the government’s plan to possibly ease the pain of missing relatives.

“I know I have met with family members who are seeking loved ones and the great difficulty is that many people have heard so many different stories,” he said.

“So, this particular family would have heard that somebody saw their loved one after the storm, they would have heard stories that somebody saw her remains after the storm and they don’t know what to think. 

“So, understand that there are hundreds of families still in anguish, still very much concerned about the people that they care about and I think our role now is to try as best as possible to bring some closure to help people to get to the truth about what has happened to their family members, loved ones and friends.”  

If you have information concerning a missing person, feel free to call the police emergency lines at 911/919.

In Grand Bahama, the Command Centre can be reached at 442-2872 or 442- 2870.