A shocking discovery of a decomposing body in the Gregory Park community in Portmore, St Catherine, was revealed to be what everyone feared: the body of eight-year-old Navardo Blackburn. Navardo, an autistic child, was reported missing over the weekend, and despite community-wide efforts to find him, his decomposing body was tragically found in an abandoned car along Milvin Avenue today.
Navardo, who lived on Queens Avenue, was last seen on Saturday around 4:30 p.m. at a playfield in his community. When he didn’t return home, his family and community members grew increasingly worried, launching a search with the help of the police.
It was on Tuesday afternoon, around 3 p.m., that residents began to notice a foul odour coming from a parked car. They quickly alerted the authorities, and when the police arrived, the devastating confirmation followed: Navardo’s lifeless body was inside.
The scene was immediately cordoned off, and forensic investigators were called in to begin their examination. Navardo’s mother and other relatives, who had been searching tirelessly alongside the community, identified his body, a moment that sparked an outpouring of raw emotion both at the scene and online.
As the news broke, social media was flooded with messages of sorrow, disbelief, and prayers for Navardo’s family. Many expressed shock, with some questioning whether this was a tragic accident or a deliberate act. Comments reflected the pain and fear in the community, with some suggesting that Navardo might have hidden in the car and accidentally locked himself in, while others feared the worst, that someone could have harmed the little boy.
The heartbreak is compounded by the fact that May is observed as Child Month in Jamaica, a time meant for celebrating and uplifting the nation’s children. Instead, this month has seen a series of tragedies involving young lives.
