Feared Missing In The Bahamas: 23 Relatives Of Sidney Poitier

[appalachiablue]

Source: New York Times

10 mins. ago. In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, which left the Bahamas splintered and overcome with flooding, one prominent family with extensive connections in the islands has spent a week trying to account for missing relatives -- and to maintain hope.

More than 500 Bahamians belong to the extended family of Sidney Poitier, the acclaimed actor who was born in Miami of Bahamian parents and was raised in the islands, according to Jeffrey Poitier, a nephew. Jeffrey Poitier said that at least 23 relatives were still unaccounted for on Thursday, including his sister Barbara and her grown children in Freeport.

"We haven't been able to find any of them, nor have we heard from any of them," Mr. Poitier, 66, said in a phone interview from the Bahamas on Thursday. "We are still looking and hoping that they surface as soon as possible. It's got us all worried."

The storm, which was moving up the East Coast of the United States on Thursday, made landfall in the islands last Sunday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful ever recorded. And then it lingered for days, turning houses into matchsticks and damaging airports and a public hospital. At least 30 people in the islands have been confirmed dead. -More...

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/feared-missing-in-the-bahamas-23-relatives-of-sidney-poitier/ar-AAGROwg?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

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The Poitier family's roots in the Bahamas go back generations. Sidney Poitier, 92, grew up on Cat Island and later rose to fame as a boundary-breaking leading man on Broadway and in Hollywood. He was the first black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for "Lilies of the Field" (1963). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Poitier



Sidney Poitier, 1968, Bahamian-American actor and film director.

[emmaverybo]

1. I hope they don't have to beak his heart at his age to tell him this hideous news, though they

probably do or he will hear or see the news himself. Always think of him in “To Sir with Love,” which was also a lovely book.
Thank you for posting this.

[appalachiablue]

2. More devastationg news, it will take weeks before the full extent

of damage and loss of lives is determined. For their sake I hope news for the Poitier family becomes better over time.

[emmaverybo]

3. Tragic for so many--at a level hard to imagine. I do hope the news will be better.

[Judi Lynn]

4. They are related to a brilliant man. I will never ever forget "Lilies of the Field." n/t

[hlthe2b]

5. So sad for him and all who are missing friends and loved ones. I hope for the best...

Ironically, I haven't heard anything about Sidney Poitier in years and it had to be this sad news.

for all missing and lost.

[mopinko]

6. just watched 'something of value'

it was his day on tmc last week.
interesting movie.

sad news.