A hero dad who "would always think of others" drowned in a river while trying to rescue his family on holiday in Jamaica.
His partner's 11-year-old niece, who he was trying to save, also died in the tragedy.
Remo Douglas, Nicola-Lee (Nicky) Cameron, her daughter Khloe-Lee Gayle and her niece Brehania Syndale were swimming at a popular beauty spot in the Clarendon parish in Jamaica when heavy rain caused the river levels to rise and the water to move faster.
Remo, 34, managed to get Nicky and Khloe-Lee to safety, before going back for Brehania. Sadly he was unable to rescue her and they both drowned, reports Bristol Live.
Local residents and eye-witnesses pulled Remo and the young girl from the water and they were taken to hospital, but were pronounced dead.
Remo and Nicky, who lived in Wolverhampton, had a baby daughter, Kacie, together, who was due to turn one just days before the tragedy, which happened on December 16.
In Bristol, where he grew up, Remo’s family have been left devastated by the tragedy. He leaves a mother and father, Euthlyn and Norris Douglas, two older sisters Jacqueline and Georgia and an older brother Conate. Friends have set up a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.
At school Remo was known for his acting and music skills, performing on the stage at the Colston Hall and the Bristol Hippodrome, and forming a rap group with his friends.
After he left school, Remo worked in a wide range of jobs, including several years with his father at the Bedminster blinds company Appeal Home Shading. He had a love of motorcycles and mopeds, and was well-known for getting around Bristol on two wheels.
He settled down with his partner Nicola and recently moved to Wolverhampton, to become a much-loved father to her daughter Khloe, and the couple's first child together, Kacie was born just before Christmas last year.
His brother Conate said the tragedy has hit the whole family very hard. “He was out there on holiday, visiting family. He’d taken his partner and stepdaughter,” he said.
“From what we’ve heard, they were all out at the river for a swim and it started to rain and the water started coming too fast. His partner’s niece was struggling, so he got Nicky to safety and his stepdaughter and went back in to try to get her out, but they were both taken by the river,” he added.
Family broke the news to Mr and Mrs Douglas straight away. “I talked to him on the phone on my way to work early on Friday, and he was out with friends. I got home from work and heard the news and my blood went cold,” said Norris, who said the tragedy showed what kind of person Remo was.
“He was the kind of person who wouldn’t think of himself at all, he would always think of other people first, and do anything for anyone.”
His mother Euthlyn brought Remo to England from Jamaica as a small baby, and he grew up very resilient. “He was a very helpful child, he was always asking what he could do to help. When he was a baby, he’d be making his own bottle up - he was very independent, and very active,” she said.
“He grew up to be a hard worker. He never caused anyone any trouble, he’d work hard, especially after he had his partner and had a baby. His stepdaughter loved him too, she would call him ‘dad’.
“He was really into his motorbikes as a young man. One time, it was raining and he came off and ended up in the hospital with a broken foot - he broke it in three places, and had to have pins in it. Soon after, I was going to Jamaica but had no one to take me to the airport, but he said he would, and went with me on the coach.
"At the airport, he somehow got my suitcase and my hand luggage, and was carrying them even though he was hopping along on crutches. That was the kind of boy he was - he’d do anything to help,” she added. “I don’t know how he managed to do it all on one foot.”
Conate remembered Remo’s passion for music and love of life. “He was funny too, every time he came into the room he’d be looking to make you laugh. He loved to dance, he loved to put on music and have it out of the window and getting everyone there to dance.”
“He is going to be so much missed,” said Euthlyn. “Everybody is crying for him, he was so well known and well loved in London, in Wolverhampton, in Bristol, in America, in Jamaica, all over,” she added.
A candlelight vigil is being held this evening (Friday, December 30) at 5pm, in the community room at Lansdowne Court in Easton where he lived, and the funeral is being planned to take place in Jamaica.
“His partner was talking to us after this happened, and she’s devastated,” said Euthlyn. “She said ‘we had so many things planned and none of it is going to happen now’, it’s just so terrible.”
