Yekepa — Police in Yekepa, Nimba County have launched investigations into two devastating incidents in Camp 4, a bustling mining community just outside Yekepa in Nimba County.
The tragedies, unfolding within hours of each other, have left residents reeling, plunging the Camp 4 town into mourning and outrage.
In the first heartbreak, a 35-year-old Mary Brown, a nine-month pregnant woman with a long history of epilepsy, met an untimely death Wednesday morning.
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Residents woke to the somber news after Brown ventured to a nearby creek with its murky waters swollen from recent rains to wash clothes.
Witnesses described how she suddenly collapsed, seizing from an epileptic episode and tumbled into the fast-flowing stream.
Despite frantic efforts by neighbors, who rushed to the scene to save her precious life, her body was recovered downstream, still clutching a bundle of soaked laundry.
"She was due any day now," lamented a close friend, her voice breaking. "The baby gone too. Camp 4 feels cursed today."
The second horror unfolded in an abandoned, crumbling building on the town's edge, where a 4-year-old girl suffered a brutal assault. Her father, 41-year-old Terry Kopea, had left her briefly in Camp 4 while heading to Yekepa for work.
Upon returning, he found her gravely injured raped, stabbed multiple times and mutilated in a failed attempt to extract body parts, including her private area.
Rushed to a local clinic, the child miraculously survived after emergency care but remains in critical condition, her tiny frame bandaged and her family shattered.
Kopea, tears streaming as he spoke to police, recounted the nightmare. "I trusted the neighborhood. How could anyone do this to my baby,"Kopea questioned.
Following his complaint, police authorities swiftly identified and arrested 38-year-old Abraham Bundeh, a resident of 8th Street in Camp 4 as the main suspect.
Bundeh, described by neighbors as reclusive and volatile, was taken into custody without resistance. Police vowed a thorough probe, with forensic teams scouring the bloodstained site amid growing calls for justice.
Compounding the grief, a third victim emerged. Fifty four- year old(54-year-old) Aaron Nya Lablah, a father of nine and security officer with Geeteah Security, drowned the previous day while fetching water.
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Stationed alone at an Orange GSM Company Trailer in nearby Domah Town along the Ganta-Kpain Highway in District one, Lablah stepped away from his post to refill water for the facility's generator a routine task during his solo week-long shift.
The community well, tucked in a dimly lit thicket, turned fatal when he slipped on slick rocks and vanished beneath the surface.
Melvin Domah, a fellow guard who had just rotated off duty, confirmed the details to reporters. "Aaron was reliable, always going the extra mile," Domah said, shaking his head.
"I was waiting for him to finish his week so I could take over. Now this." Only two officers cover the remote site weekly, highlighting the isolation and risks of such postings in Liberia's rugged interior.
Families of both Brown and Lablah have accused Geeteah Security of negligence, demanding accountability for inadequate safety measures like epilepsy awareness training or well side barriers. "They sent our men out alone with no backup," Lablah's widow cried during a vigil.
"Where's the support?" When reached, company representative Mark Diaxon was evasive, stating only that he was "distributing fuel to Organ sites across Nimba County" and deferring questions to headquarters.
Investigations continue with the community bracing for more revelations.
