A 'traumatised' mum has vowed never to go on a beach again after her Jet2 holiday turned into a horror movie - when she discovered a body on her morning run. Emma Elliott had jetted off for a relaxing week-long family holiday to Menorca with partner Lee Brogden, seven-year-old son Bobby-lee Brogden, and nephew Lee.
After a few days spent sunbathing at the beach-front hotel and pool, Emma woke up early and decided to go for a run along nearby Arenal d'en Castell beach. Five minutes into her morning jog the mum-of-one spotted what she thought was a giant jellyfish stranded on the beach.
But on closer inspection the horrified full-time mum realised it wasn't a sea creature but a body.
The letter written by Emma Elliot, 39, that was left in tribute (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Stunned, Emma raced back to her hotel room to tearfully tell machine operator partner Lee what she'd found. The couple, along with a hotel staff member, went to the beach and stuck a pole in the sand to stop the body drifting out to sea before Lee called the police.
Since stumbling across the remains, Emma said she's been suffering daily panic attacks and nightmares and refuses to go on a beach on her own again. Emma said: "It happened on the fifth day of our holiday. Up to that point we had been having a really nice time.
"We had been going to the beach, going on the pedalos and the discos at night time. That morning I woke up at 6:22am. No-one else was awake because it was so early, so I thought I would go to the gym in the hotel.
"But when I arrived at the gym there was a sign on the door saying it wasn't open until 9am so I decided to go on a jog along the marina. I had jogged halfway along the marina [about five minutes] and thought I would turn back because the sea was a bit choppy, but I decided to continue as it looked safe to do so.
"Four steps later, I looked to my right and there was a dead body lying on the beach.
A body on the beach in Menorca is being investigated (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
"I had to look about three times before I realised it was a body. I thought it was a jellyfish at first because he was so translucent. [You could see] where he had been struggling to catch his breath underwater. I could see all his face and his body.
"I can't get the image out of my head. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. I looked around the beach and no one was there so I sprinted back up to the hotel and went straight back to my hotel room with my partner Lee.
"I was so panicked and kept repeating 'dead body, dead body'. I was crying from the shock at first and I couldn't catch my breath when I first found him."
Emma said after racing back to her hotel room, she and Lee, along with a manager went to the beach and then reported the discovery to the police. Emma said: "My partner Lee went to the hotel office to let them know and then he had to go and see it for himself.
"He called the police and they came straight away. Lee had to stick a pole in front of the man to stop him washing back to shore.
"That was my big concern. I didn't want him to drift back to sea without having a funeral, getting peace for his family or being put to rest. The Spanish police took a statement from me at the time.
"They promised to let me know who the man was and where he was from, they still haven't let me know so I haven't been able to put my mind to rest. I need to know this to get closure.
"It's not something you see every day and the man was seriously decomposing. He wasn't naked. He had a pair of cargo shorts on and was wearing a wristwatch on his left arm.
Emma Elliot, 39, Lee Brogden, 39, and son Bobby-Lee Brogden, seven, on holiday (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
"The police arrived pretty sharpish around 7am. But he was still lying on the beach two hours later. I was staying on a beach seafront hotel and I could see everything that was happening after the police came.
"Lee, my nephew is 17 so we were able to explain to him what happened but my seven-year-old started panicking when he heard what had happened." Still waiting on the police force's findings, Emma said she hopes they're able to establish the man's identity so she can put her mind 'at ease'.
Emma said: "The police said they were doing an autopsy on him the day after he was found but we have heard nothing. I wanted to find out this information to put my mind at ease.
"I hope I have helped to identify someone's loved one and helped in some way. I honestly believe that I was chosen to go and find that body that morning. I know it might sound weird but someone above chose me to find him."
Emma had discovered the dead male body at 6:43am on May 17 and said Spanish Police arrived at the beach at 7am. Emma says she cannot get the image of the dead body out of her head and is having nightmares about it.
She is struggling to sleep and eat and is having daily panic attacks about her gruesome discovery. She said has been left 'traumatised' by what she discovered on the beach and said it ruined the rest of her family holiday.
Emma said: "After finding the body on holiday, I was down all the time and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was having really bad panic attacks and I seem to be having more and more.
"Maybe this is because the shock of what happened has worn off. I'm still having panic attacks now and the doctors have had to prescribe me sleeping pills.
"I keep having nightmares and I'm waking up in the middle of the night. My partner also had to see the dead body and he can't sleep properly either.
The tribute left by the family in the sport where the body was found (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
"I'm not eating very well at the moment and I could hardly eat on holiday as I just felt sick. We booked the holiday through Jet2, they offered counselling initially and I had one session of trauma counselling while on holiday.
"I'm just a bit traumatised by what went on."
Before flying home, Emma revisited the beach with her family to leave flowers and a note to give herself personal closure on the incident. Despite returning to Arenal d'en Castell beach to pay her respects, she said she won't be jogging or going to a beach alone any time soon.
Emma said: "After finding the dead body I didn't return to the beach for the rest of the holiday. The only time I went back was on the last day with Lee and my son.
"No one had put any flowers down so we went out and bought some and we wrote a little note to put down on the beach. I had to go down just for my own peace of mind before I went home.
"I don't think I could go to the beach on my own again - definitely not at this present time. I don't think I could go on a beach in Newcastle on my own either at the moment.
"It just brings back too many memories. I think if I went down on my own, I'd just be looking all over the place for dead bodies.
"Maybe in time I will be able to but not right now. I don't think I could even go jogging on my own at the moment, I haven't got the mind to do so."
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "We are sorry to hear of Ms Elliot's experience. We can confirm that our teams were in regular contact with Ms Elliot throughout her stay and did all they could to support her, including putting her in touch with our counselling support service."
The Guardia Civil have been contacted for comment.
