What was supposed to be a day of complete joy for the graduating class of Port Antonio High School was dampened on Thursday, as students mourned the loss of their schoolmate Deshawn Miller, 17, who drowned at the Winnifred’s Beach in Portland the previous day.

Miller, a grade 11 student, who was known for his spearfishing exploits, reportedly got into difficulty and drowned while fishing in choppy waters at the beach in Fairy Hill. His body was later removed from the choppy waters by local divers. On Thursday, students and school administrators observed a minute of silence for Miller, who was described as a hard-working and well disciplined student, and who maintained an average way above 60 per cent during his time at that secondary institution.

A source at the school, who requested anonymity, said that Miller was one of those students who participated in school activities and was regarded as a role model and disciplinarian. He was always engaged in assisting other students in completing their assignments.

“He was not one of those popular students, so therefore he was not well known by students on the other shift, and therefore many would not be too familiar with the name. But it is quite clear that those students who are familiar with him were in a rather sad mood. It is a rather unfortunate incident, but one that we will recover from,” said the individual.

Efforts to find Miller’s relatives were unsuccessful.