Body found in sea off Richmond

The body of an unidentified man was found floating in the waters off Richmond beach last week Thursday night.

The corpse, described as that of a fair skinned, dreadlocked male was discovered by the coast guard while they were on a routine coastal patrol.{{more}}

Searchlight understands that at about 10:00 pm, coast guard officers encountered the vessel “Dry Cry” going around in circles with no one at the helm. It is then, the officers say, they saw a body floating in the water.

A coast guard spokesman told SEARCHLIGHT that they were unable to get to the body at the time as the uncontrolled boat meant imminent danger. It took the officers half an hour to get the boat under control by which time the body had washed up on the beach.

The corpse was taken to the mortuary, and an autopsy is to be performed. Efforts to identify the body so far have proven futile, however, a source told SEARCHLIGHT that the body could be that of a Barbadian national. The boat, a St. Lucia-registered pirogue with an outboard engine was taken to the Calliaqua coast guard base.

Another vessel, “Wanted”, also St. Lucia-registered, was seized in the Fancy area last Monday evening. The coast guard spokesman said that they were on routine patrol when they observed the vessel dropping off two men at Fancy Bay, having come from the direction of St Lucia.

The two men were taken into custody. The pirogue is said to have been involved in an incident last week in the Baleine area when it was allegedly used to ram a small fishing boat, sinking it. The matter is being investigated by the enforcement unit of the Customs Department. (AC)