Members of the search and rescue team looking for the four missing people during Hurricane Fabian worked as long as 18 hours a day in a desperate attempt to find the victims.

Insp. Mark Bothelo, who heads up the Bermuda Police's Marine Section, said although the search and rescue operation had to be called off on the day the hurricane hit due to severe weather and fading light, it was resumed at the first opportunity.

He said his unit was mobilised at 4.30 a.m. on Saturday, September 6 - the day after the storm, and they arrived at the Causeway at 6 a.m.

But he said on that first full day of searching, visibility in the water was only six to 12 inches and he said the currents were strong. On the Sunday, visibility improved to one to two feet, but the current remained strong, creating problems for the marine unit divers and other agencies, who were working together to save the four.

The water conditions then improved giving visibility between three and four feet, and by Thursday of that week conditions were back to normal.

Insp. Bothello said when the vehicles were found on the Sunday, visibility was still so bad, the diver who found them came up to inform his colleagues and then went back down and could not find them again - at first.

He said the officer had purely discovered the vehicles on touch alone.

But he said throughout the 19-day search, divers and people in kayaks had scoured the ocean and shoreline, but had only discovered the body of P.c. Stephen Symons. P.c. Nicole O'Connor, Gladys Saunders and Manuel Pacheco had not been found, and neither had any clothing or belongings.

But Insp. Bothello said the Ferry Reach, Castle Harbour, and North Shore, from beyond the Ferry Reach oil docks to Spanish Point had been thoroughly searched, as had the Commissioner's Point area of Dockyard.

But Scott Simmons, chief radio officer at Harbour Radio, said the weather conditions and stormy seas made the search so much more difficult.

“The fact is that the winds and seas experienced during Hurricane Fabian were catastrophic and that made it more difficult knowing where to start a search,” said Mr. Simmons.

“After the discovery of Mr. Symons off the oil docks - that was the only real clue (we had) where to centre our search.”

And he said the amount of trash and garbage in the water, discarded by residents who wanted to empty their fridges and freezers, did not help.

He added: “We have already had one possible sighting today, but it turned out to be a garbage bag again. We are still visiting areas where there are possible sightings and reporting back to Com Ops (Commmunications/Operations at Police Headquarters).”

Insp. Bothello said the search and recovery mission had been made all the more painful Marine Police knew Mr. Pacheco, who worked for the Corporation of Hamilton at Barr's Park.