Retired Officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Leonard McCoshen, has arrived in Guyana and will officially begin working alongside the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in the Adrianna Younge case on Wednesday.
His recruitment, facilitated by the Government of Guyana, fulfils a promise made by President Dr. Irfaan Ali to Younge’s family.
Speaking on his weekly programme “Issues In The News,” Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, confirmed that McCoshen is now in the country and will join the ongoing investigation into Younge’s death, which has captured national and regional attention.
Younge’s death has been the subject of widespread mourning, protest, and political commentary. According to Nandlall, the tragedy has evolved from one of collective grief to a complex national controversy, with competing narratives and public demonstrations.
“In my humble view, this tragedy has been hijacked,” the Attorney General said. “Different persons seem to be manipulating and exploiting it for their own reasons – pursuing their own agendas.”
Younge, who recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), went missing on April 23, 2025, not long after she arrived at the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) with relatives. The following day, her lifeless body was found in the hotel’s pool.
A post-mortem examination (PME) conducted by internationally renowned pathologists concluded that the 11-year-old girl died from drowning.
Despite the PME, observed by family members and their legal representatives, public skepticism remains, and calls have been made for involvement from the FBI, Scotland Yard, and the RCMP.
However, Nandlall defended the selection of the Canadian expert, noting it was in motion long before those public demands.
“This government has delivered on its commitment,” he stated as he warned against undermining the credibility of the Police Force.
“If every high-profile death demands foreign intervention, where does that leave the morale and authority of the GPF?” he asked. “No one’s child is more valuable than another’s. When you are in government, you have to make decisions that do not set precedents.”
Nandlall further rebuked individuals publicly rejecting the findings of the international pathologists in favour of unqualified commentary, including what he described as fabricated accounts by a nursing aide and grandstanding by legal representatives lacking expertise in forensic science.
As Guyana awaits a final funeral date for Younge, Nandlall said the focus must return to justice and facts. “There’s a tendency in this country that if an investigation doesn’t yield a politically convenient result, it’s immediately labelled a cover-up,” he noted.
