Nearly seven months after two-year-old Angelo Tobias-Plaza disappeared from his Goodwood, Tobago home, law enforcement officials have moved to correct public misinformation about the status of efforts to recover the toddler’s remains. Acting Commissioner of Police Rishi Singh emphasized that while the initial large-scale multi-agency search operation has concluded, targeted searches will be launched immediately any time new credible information about the child’s body comes into the force. “Claims that the search has been permanently called off are simply not factual,” Singh confirmed in an official statement.
The toddler was first reported missing from his Cambridge Trace residence on the night of May 11 this year, sparking one of the largest search operations in recent Tobago history. Law enforcement, emergency response agencies, and volunteer rescue groups mobilized resources across land, sea, and air to locate the child, with participation from the Tobago Police Division, the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, the Coast Guard, the Child Protection Unit, the Homicide Bureau, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency, and both regional Hunters Search and Rescue Team branches. On May 25, Angelo’s 24-year-old stepfather, Shannon Miller, was taken into custody and arraigned at a Scarborough court on a charge of murder. He is next scheduled to appear for a court hearing on November 30.
In the wake of Miller’s arrest and the pause in large-scale search efforts, Angelo’s grieving family has begun making arrangements for a memorial service, held to honor the toddler’s memory with his body still unrecovered. Kalifah Tobias, cousin of Angelo’s mother, confirmed that event planning is well underway, though organizers have not yet locked in a final date for the service. Tobias himself was detained by investigators in the early stages of the probe, but he was ultimately released following guidance from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Speaking on behalf of the entire family, Tobias shared that Angelo’s young mother has struggled immensely to cope with the loss and uncertainty of the situation. Closely supported by extended family members who have rallied around her to provide emotional and practical assistance through this devastating ordeal, she has stepped back from public life: she deactivated her Facebook account not long after the case began, and has not returned to her Cambridge Trace home since Tobias was released from police custody.
The investigation’s progress and handling have already drawn public criticism from top regional leaders. Two weeks ago, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Farley Augustine told reporters he was deeply dissatisfied with the police investigation into Angelo’s disappearance and murder, stating that the service needed to lift its performance in high-profile missing person and homicide cases. During a plenary sitting of the THA, Augustine added that the regional assembly is prepared to offer specialized training to Tobago-based police officers to improve response outcomes for similar cases in the future.