Two Years After Oreon Gomez Went Missing in Arima, His Mother Asks: Is This Now a Cold Case?

Sharon Chapman is desperate for answers. It has been two years since her 21-year-old son, Oreon Gomez, disappeared after leaving home for a planned hike in Arima. The last sighting of him, captured on CCTV, shows him walking near the Arima Magistrates’ Court on August 26, 2023.

According to Chapman, Oreon had been chatting with a young woman on social media and went on a date that day. The woman said they went to a popular resort in Arima, but footage from the establishment shows they never arrived. He never showed up for the hike the next day, and his family has not seen him since.

Chapman has expressed frustration with the police investigation. She says she notified the investigator about CCTV footage from businesses along Sorzano Street, within walking distance of the Arima Police Station, but officers never retrieved it. “This might have been able to solve a piece of the puzzle,” she said.

Now, she is asking pointed questions: Is this how missing persons reports are handled? Is her son’s case now classified as a cold case? She is pleading for anyone with information to come forward, noting that each day without answers deepens the family’s suffering.

The Hunters Search and Rescue Team has provided comfort and support, but Chapman says the lack of closure is overwhelming. She urges families facing similar situations to hold on to faith and to inform trusted contacts about their whereabouts. “Every missing person deserves to be found, and every family deserves answers,” she said.