The article about the disappearance of businessman Hassanli, a few weeks after the June 1977 coup d’Etat aroused a lot of interest among readers recently. A mention was also made of the Gilbert Morgan mystery. The young Morgan, married to a beauty queen, vanished a few months before the coup. His wife, Mrs. Sylvia Morgan, is now living in Canada with their son and daughter. The son, Derek, now a young man in his early thirties, was in Seychelles for a holiday a couple of years ago. He said that sometime after the coup, his mother went to see one of Seychelles’ new rulers. She was bluntly told that there was little likelihood of her seeing him again and she should get on with her life.
We are sure that readers will appreciate an account of what is known of Morgan who vanished while having drinks with some friends at the Reef Hotel. He left behind on the bar a glassful of whisky, two packets of cigarettes and later his car was found still parked in the hotel car park. But of Morgan there was no sign.
Gilbert Morgan, an electrical contractor, met his wife Sylvia Labonte in 1970 on his return to Seychelles from several years in the UK. He was 23 at the time and Sylvia had just handed over her Miss Seychelles crown.
The couple was married and had two children: Derek aged 5 and Sharon 3 at the time of his disappearance in 1977. An inquiry was held by the Supreme Court into the disappearance some months later. The former Commissioner of Police then said: “We have been actively engaged pursuing every lead. Every lead or report has been carefully followed up and a great number of people have been interviewed and many written statements taken. Enquiries have also been made outside Seychelles.”
Mrs. Sylvia Morgan told the court that her husband left home during the evening of February 7, saying he was going for a drink with friends at the Reef Hotel. She said that in the middle of the night, she woke up to find he had not returned and assumed he was still with his friends. In the morning, he was still not back and while she was being driven to work by her brother, she found his car parked by the Reef Hotel. She reported the matter to the police later that same morning.
Three people who had been drinking with Gilbert Morgan gave almost identical accounts. They were Maxime Delpeche, Inspector Clay Delpeche and Jack Kelly. Maxime Delpeche said he was offering a round and saying “whisky for Gilbert Morgan” when he noticed that the latter’s glass was still full. He said he could not see Gilbert, but his two packets of Benson and Hedges cigarettes and a box of Reef Hotel matches were still there.
Inspector Clay Delpeche said he had come to the Reef Hotel to pick up his wife when he heard someone called his name. It was Gilbert Morgan, who offered him a drink and said he wanted to see him about a bus he had just bought. He said he was seated with his back to Morgan, when at one point, he noticed he was no longer around. Kelly said;” You know Gilbert. He’s around chasing girls”. Someone said he must be around.
They did not take further notice until the bar closed at midnight when Kelly began to wonder how he would get home without Morgan and luckily Mr. Delpeche offered him a lift home.
Mrs. Morgan said in an interview with “Weekend Life” in its issue of August 13, 1977.
“Everyday brings a bigger nightmare for me since my husband left home one night and never returned. Now I wish someone would find out the truth. But I know, I will never be able to forget about the whole affair”. She said she remembered that night in February very well. “ It was around 9 pm and he told me he was going for a drink at the Reef Hotel with a friend. He told me he was going to see a policeman regarding a bus. I was with my brother at the time in the house where I still live on the road from the Reef to Pointe au Sel.”
She said she went to bed, but got up in the night around 2 am and Gilbert was still not back. He normally came back home, although very late. But he never stayed out all night without letting me know and I found that very strange.”
She said in the morning on her way to work with her brother she saw his car parked by the road at the hotel. She quickly got her brother to stop the car and went to see if he was not around. A barman confirmed that to me that Gilbert had been drinking there that night.”
“I couldn’t do anything - From that time, I knew something must have happened. When I got to work, I rang the hotel again, but I was confused and troubled - I went straight to the police.”
Mrs. Morgan added “ I have no idea what could have happened to him. I have heard many rumours about what has happened to him, but I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know which ones have got some truth in them and which ones have been made up. You can never tell”
“All I feel is that Gilbert would have told me if he had gone somewhere else. I fear the worse. He would have tied up his affairs.”
Morgan had worked for W & C French, then one of the islands’ main building contractors. In February 1977, he was working for millionaire David Shaw at Turtle Bay as well as building some houses himself.
“The main reason I didn’t go with him often is that we did not have a babysitter for our two kids. Sometimes, he would go drinking with his friends and then come home and gamble all night and the following morning. I hated that very much and I told him. But generally, we got on all right. I stayed at home most of the time and let him carry on with his life.”
“I can only pray that Gilbert comes back. His home is here, and we, that is his two children and I, love and miss him very dearly”. The mystery behind Gilbert Morgan’s disappearance remains unsolved to this very day.
