By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A POPULAR Haitian rapper with more than one million Instagram followers reportedly went missing in The Bahamas around July 4, prompting a frantic effort from his family to locate him.

Chief Superintendent Anton Rahming, the officer currently in charge of the Central Investigation Department, said Johnathan Wens Désir –– stage name Mechans-T –– was reported missing to police in Abaco on July 16 after not being seen or heard from since July 4.

Mr Désir’s management team and family posted a letter on his Instagram page, describing the issue as sensitive while asking for information.

A number of Haitian outlets have reported on his disappearance.

The Haitian Times, an online newspaper based in New York, reported that Mr Désir travelled to Abaco for a concert on May 18. His older brother, Steeven Désir, and another artist, Marshelle, were among those who accompanied him.

His brother reportedly left The Bahamas on May 23, but he remained for a vacation.

His brother reportedly told the Haitian Times: “He told me, if I go back to the country, I won’t be able to focus because I’m preparing for my 2025 album. It’s calmer here. I’m staying here for a short vacation.”

The older brother said the two were in touch daily, but he stopped hearing from his kin on July 4. Mr Désir’s girlfriend also stopped hearing from him.

“I might be in my room alone, I don’t know, and tears might come out of my eyes because I miss the little guy, but I can’t show people that I’m weak,” the older brother said.

“We’re doing everything we can to find Mechans-T right now because his family is inconsolable. My mom and dad are crying, so I have to stay strong.”

Some Haitians have, without evidence, connected Mr Désir’s disappearance to a boating incident on Andros last week. Police said a boat with eight people was travelling from Ocean Cay to Eleuthera with eight passengers when the vessel began taking in water and eventually sank some nine miles off Morgans Bluff, Andros. Several people, including Hondurans and one Haitian national, were reportedly rescued.

Mechans-T has one million Instagram followers, 448,000 YouTube subscribers, and 12,485 monthly Spotify listeners.