Decomposed body found in Belize River, police launch investigation to identify victim

Belize: The decomposed body of an unknown male was recovered from the Belize River on Tuesday morning (April 29, 2025). Police in western Belize said that they are working to confirm the identity of the victim who was found in a brutal condition.  

According to the information, authorities received a report around 5:30 pm on Monday, April 28, about a body seen floating in the river. Soon after the report, the authorities arrived at the location and conducted an initial search that evening but were unable to locate it.  

Reportedly, the search resumed at around 5:45 am on Tuesday, when officers returned to the same area and successfully found the body of a male which was allegedly in an advanced state of decomposition. Officers pulled the body to the riverbank only to find the male in a very bad condition. 

During the investigation, the officials also found a wallet on the body which contained a social security card but because of the extent of decomposition, the police said it was not possible to identify the individual positively.  

By seeing the state of decomposition, the police suspected that it had been in the river for a few days now. Also, there were no direct visible injury marks on the body which is why no foul play is suspected at present however, the police said that the postmortem report will reveal further details.  

The police said that the post-mortem examination has been scheduled to take place this week which will determine the actual cause of the death and assist with confirming the identity of the man. “Investigations into the incident are ongoing,” they added.  

Officials are also appealing to anyone with information to come forward and assist with identifying the male, as well as reporting any suspicious activity observed in the area over the past week which could further assist them in finding the details surrounding behind the discovery.