An elderly Canadian man was found dead with stab wounds while floating alone on a boat off the coast of Belize, officials say.
The body of Thomas David Harmon, a 72-year-old from British Columbia, was found aboard the catamaran on Wednesday. Earlier that day, the boat had been drifting 60 miles from Belize's shoreline.
A woman was rescued from the same vessel on Monday, Francis Usher, the CEO of the Ministry of National Defence & Border Security, told a Belizean radio station.
Usher confirmed that the woman was taken aboard the cruise ship MSC Divina and that she was in a state of distress. However, Harmon’s body was left in place by the cruise ship.
Gregory Soberanis, the commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, has said that the woman’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
A delay in locating the boat followed, since the drifting vessel was outside of Belize’s jurisdiction.
Stacy Smith, the Assistant Superintendent of the Belize Police Department, told PlusTV Belize that authorities were informed on March 11 that the catamaran was carrying a body by the Belize Rescue Team.
The boat, named the Melinda, was secured by the Coast Guard, which Usher says towed it to Caye Caulker, an island off Belize's mainland.
The boat has since been moved to Belize City, where it will remain for the duration of the investigation, according to Usher. Harmon’s body has also been moved to the nation’s capital.
Harmon’s son told authorities that his father set sail on the Melinda from Livingston, Guatemala, last week. Livingston is nearly 250 miles from where the boat was found drifting.
Harmon’s son has since arrived in Belize and is making arrangements for his father’s body to be transported back home to Canada. The boat is being treated as a crime scene, since Harmon’s body was found with wounds and with signs of mild decomposition, authorities have said.
Harmon’s injuries were reported as stab wounds by The Vancouver Sun.
Smith has confirmed that the investigation into Harmon’s death is still ongoing and that authorities are awaiting the results of a post-mortem to determine his exact cause of death.
The Independent has contacted the Belize Police Department for comment.
