More than three years after her daughter was reported missing, Waveney August faced the harrowing reality of burying Waletta Ashana Rigby on Wednesday, a confirmation of her child’s death that has reopened deep emotional wounds.
Rigby was reported missing in June 2021 following a boating mishap near the Guyana-Brazil border. August spoke to this publication as she prepared to inter her daughter’s remains, which had recently been uncovered.
In 2023, August received alarming news prompting police to search near the border for remains. “When they brought the body, they asked me to identify it. I saw the bare foot… and they showed me a set of underwear. I said, ‘This is my daughter,’” August recalled with heartbreak.
The remains were recovered from the Lethem area, close to a river, but August was informed at that time that no one could be charged in connection with her daughter’s death. “They said they couldn’t charge anybody, and the story stayed like that,” she lamented.
It wasn’t until January 2025 that August learned DNA testing had confirmed the remains were her daughter’s. She was abroad during this time and had to provide identification and birth records for the confirmation process. “They called to say they have the DNA results, and it is her,” August said, reflecting on the years of uncertainty following her daughter’s disappearance.
Rigby, a mother of six, vanished after travelling to Brazil to purchase goods and was last seen returning to Guyana by boat. According to reports, another woman survived the incident, but Rigby was never found.
August, who is now 65 years old, described the added pain of losing her daughter while caring for several of her grandchildren, including a minor. “My child has to go in that small box, and it’s really hard,” she said. “I’m supporting four of them… I have a minor. It’s hard for me to take care of a child now.”
The emotional toll on the children is immense, particularly for the youngest, who is now growing up without a mother. As Waveney August lays her daughter to rest, the pain of loss is compounded by the challenges of motherhood and the unending struggle to provide for her family.
