TCI News
TCI: Strangers tried again to find Alandre, still no sign of teen boy
#Providenciales, September 26, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Two search teams fanned out from two marinas in Providenciales, unprepared to give up on finding, at the very least, the body of a teenaged boy who went missing while swimming with friends last Thursday. Most who showed up for the final search do not even know young Alandre Pierre personally.
The search for 17-year-old, Alandre Jean Pierre by a team of officials including the Marine Police, Dept of Coastal Resources, Department of Disaster Management & Emergencies, private residents and the US Coast Guard was called off over the weekend.
The boy was still unfound said a police update issued on Monday afternoon.
The family of young Pierre arranged one of the search efforts, which started at the Turtle Cove Marina with an appeal on Facebook; it was a combination of friends and strangers with one goal in mind.
“Basically, I feel as if this could have easily been one of my friends, my relatives. I think this is a young boy who actually assisted me while I was working at the Red Cross. He volunteered his time,” said a young woman named Kensey, who added, “Hopefully we can find closure for the family and we sympathise with the situation and a lot of us are just volunteers and this is a great way to show, you know, regardless of the fact that he was Haitian or not… it is just showing unity, that we can come together for a greater cause, putting aside all of that negative talk.”
“I was hoping we could find this kid. I don’t know him personally, but if it was me, I would hope somebody would try to find me and not just give up in a couple of days. It just doesn’t make sense, we are just hoping we can find him, explained Khalil Taylor, a young man who volunteered to scour Providenciales beaches and waters ways.
Even a professional swim instructor joined the search party and says the tragedy demands a sensible response; for swimming to be added to all schools’ curriculum.
“I used to swim (competitively), not a diver but I am willing to lend my expertise and hopefully we can find the guy so that the family can find closure.”
Lenin Hamilton is the swim coach and a founder of the TCI Aquatics Club; he grew up in The Bahamas though he now resides with his family in Providenciales.
“I would also suggest that between Hurricane Dorian and this event of a teen missing at sea, we should have swimming in the curriculum in case anything of these things happen again at least they will have some form of survival skills to manage rip currents like this,” said Coach Hamilton.
On the day Alandre went swimming with friends at the Bight Park beach, there were warnings of hazardous conditions, monster swells and dangerous rip currents. The weather report advised to stay out of the water. Now his friends, his family are devastated and bewildered.
The Turks and Caicos Boating club, left from a marina further east; the Blue Haven Marina.
“Well we have decided to give it one more shot to find the missing teen. The TCI Boat Club has partnered with Catch the Wave charters to make one last run out there to see what we come up with,” said Albert “Froggie” Williams on Wednesday when we spoke to him.
Froggie, one of the lead organisers of the TCI Boat Club Poker Run, actually postponed the highly anticipated event to October 5 due to the rough surf and hazardous conditions caused by the storms churning in the Atlantic basin.
Froggie shared the plan for his crew of six, “We are going to follow the currents for that day but basically, we are going everywhere.”
A follow up with Froggie today revealed, that indeed Alandre was not found; the TCI Boat Club and Catch the Wave search for the teenager ended around 1:30pm on Wednesday.
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Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
News
The Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 11 February 2026: The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU) coordinated a multi-agency enforcement operation on Thursday, 29 January 2026, led by the Planning Department, with support from the Crown Land
Unit, the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, and security provided by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. The operation, carried out at three different locations in Providenciales, formed part of ongoing government efforts to address unauthorised development and illegal occupation of land in accordance with governing legislation.
The operation commenced in Blue Hills, where five Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on unauthorised structures identified on Block and Parcel 60502/48.
Enforcement activity then moved to a second location off the Leeward Highway near Caicos Lodge, where six Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on additional unauthorised structures on Block and Parcel 60802/66.
The final phase of the operation took place in The Bight, where three unauthorised structures were removed, with all debris cleared from the site in keeping with established safety and environmental protocols.
The Informal Settlements Unit remains committed to working alongside its partner agencies to support lawful development, protect public and private land, and ensure that planning regulations are enforced in a coordinated and transparent manner across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Similar joint operations will continue as part of the Government’s wider strategy to address unauthorised development and informal settlement activity.
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