For a week, the family of Antonio “Doe Doe” Bastian, a 45-year-old resident of Andros, The Bahamas, has clung to hope while growing increasingly desperate. With no trace of their missing loved one found, they are calling on authorities to deploy additional search resources from New Providence to ramp up efforts to locate him.
Bastian was last spotted on July 13, as he walked along Queen’s Highway between the communities of Love Hill and Fresh Creek. According to his sister, Hanna Mott, Bastian was en route to a scheduled medical appointment when he vanished.
Mott shared that her brother lives with a mental health condition that causes hallucinations, for which he receives regular injectable treatment. Bastian has a history of inpatient care at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, but Mott said he had made significant progress in his recovery in recent years, earning a steady income washing cars for local residents.
Concern grew when Bastian failed to return to his home by July 14, an absence that his family says is completely out of character. Mott explained that Bastian only goes extended periods without reaching out “once in a blue moon”, making a full week without contact deeply alarming. After waiting 48 hours for any sign of him, the family officially filed a missing person report with police on July 16.
Mott says she holds an unconfirmed suspicion that Bastian may have been targeted by foul play or moved against his will to another location. She traced the onset of her brother’s mental health challenges to a past incident where she believes he was given a drugged, contaminated substance by a third party. Bastian has received ongoing care at Sandilands for roughly four to five years, with periods of inpatient treatment interspersed with time living at home.
Local law enforcement has already carried out extensive search operations across Central and North Andros since the report was filed, including deploying the Criminal Detection Unit’s drone team to cover hard-to-reach terrain. Mott was quick to praise the work of on-island officers, who have stood with the family from the first day of the search, joining search teams both early in the morning and late into the evening.
“As much as the police can do in Andros, from Central to North, they are doing, but they need more help,” Mott said of the ongoing effort. So far, all searches have turned up no clues to Bastian’s whereabouts.
Police released an official missing person poster with Bastian’s description on July 19. He is characterized as a slim man with a dark brown complexion, standing approximately five feet six inches tall. The Tribune reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for additional comment on the search and the family’s request for extra resources, but had not received a response as of press time.