Investigations Into Policeman Mystery Disappearance In Limbo

Police investigations into the mysterious disappearance of L/Cpl Michael Tetteh Adamtey (Number 38222), bodyguard of the Police Director of Operations, about 5 years ago, has hit a snag, following the absence of equipment at the Police Forensic Laboratory to conduct further analysis on a human skull which was exhumed at Tema Newtown. The Chronicle can confirm that even though the crime laboratory is willing to get to the bottom of the case, the absence of the equipment to undertake staining technology is seriously hindering the effort. The Chronicle is privy to information that immediately after the incident on 22nd September, 2009, so many theories were propounded, including an allegation that he might have deserted, or, better put, gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave). The police authorities have, therefore, placed an embargo on his salary, effective October, the same year. A source close to the wife, Evelyn Bodua, also a policewoman, with whom he had 2 kids, said that the family and the authorities have not left any stone unturned in their efforts to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the bodyguard. This paper is reliably informed that some pastors and believers in traditional African sciences capitalised on it and harvested from persons who went consulting them to know the whereabouts of L/Cpl. Adamtey. The source is full of praise for the wife of the Police Operations� capo, who took it upon herself to sponsor some of the �fact-finding� trips. What is not clear now is how the police administration is treating the case of the disappeared Adamtey. At the Police Headquarters, The Chronicle was surprised to learn that high ranking persons seemed unaware of what had happened to the bodyguard, let alone the position of the administration on the case. However, this paper�s investigations revealed that per the Police Service regulations, any personnel who absents him/herself from work/barracks is considered missing, and if after 21 days the missing person is not found, the person is then labeled a deserter. In the case under review, L/Cpl. Tetteh Adamtey served for 5 years and made contributions to the Police Welfare Scheme. The issue of whether the former contributor�s quota must be given to the family has arisen, and highly placed sources at the headquarters, some of who have retired from active service, were unanimous in saying that until such a time that a case is established whether he is alive or dead, nobody would be offered his welfare package. They argued that granted that a family member comes forward to claim the package and he re-surfaces one day, what would be the fate of the police administration. It would be recalled that in the early hours of September 22, 2009, L/Cpl. Michael Adamtey, then bodyguard of Police Operations Director-General COP John Kudalor, mysteriously disappeared from the Tema Newtown police barracks. According to his wife, very typical of him, he polished his boots, ironed his uniform, and was ready for the day�s work. According to the wife, she headed for the barracks bathhouse, taking along the husband�s toothbrush and waited for him, but when he was not coming after she had had her bath, she returned to the room, only to find out that he was not there. Since then, every effort by detectives and sympathisers to unravel the mysterious disappearance of the bodyguard had proven futile. Investigations have revealed that on March 28, 2012, personnel of the Waste Management Division of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, who were desilting a drain and sewerage system at the Tema Manhean Junior High School, which connects the central sewerage system to the sea at Tema Newtown, led by Charlotte Adjei, discovered the mortal remains of an unknown dead man. A report was made to the Tema Newtown police the following day, March 29, and an officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Osman Alhassan, led a team of detectives to the scene, close to a manhole. It was detected that the limb bone had been taken away by unknown person(s), leaving behind the skull, rib and backbone. The remains were then sent to the Police Hospital Mortuary for preservation, while the Forensic Laboratory in Accra was tasked to conduct a DNA examination on the human skull to ascertain if it was that of L/Cpl. Adamtey. The parents of the disappeared bodyguard, Elizabeth Odonkor, 60, and Eric K. Odonkor, 68, also assisted crime experts at the laboratory with dental information. Our sources at the CID Headquarters hinted that if the DNA test is conducted on the skull and it proves to be that of L/Cpl. Adamtey, the stage would then be set for an investigation into who might have killed him, and the motive behind it.