Police in Belize have confirmed that they are investigating the death of Thomas David Harmon of Vancouver after his body was discovered on a catamaran adrift around 100 kilometres off the coast on Wednesday.
A woman who was earlier rescued from the boat said it was her husband, and he had suffered a cardiac arrest. But when rescue teams boarded the boat, they discovered signs of blood and that the 72-year-old — reportedly found in a state of mild decomposition — had evidence of stab wounds on his body.
Stacy Smith, the Assistant Superintendent of the Belize Police Department, said the body is undergoing a post-mortem to definitively establish the cause of death.
“It is an ongoing investigation,” she said. “We are awaiting the results of the post-mortem to make a determination in that regard.”
Thomas David Harmon
The catamaran, called the Melinda, was last seen the week before leaving Livingston, Guatemala, about 400 kilometres away from where it was found adrift. On Monday, the cruise ship MSC Divina reported a distress call and rescued a woman from the boat, but were unable to take the body.
The catamaran was outside Belize’s territorial waters, leading to a delay in locating the boat again. A private boat was hired to find it when it was inside Belize’s jurisdiction. The Coast Guard quickly mobilized to secure the vessel.
Francis Usher, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Defence and Border Security, said the boat was treated as a crime scene after the coast guard boarded the boat and found the evidence of foul play.
The boat has since been towed to a coast guard base in Caye Caulker, and Harmon’s body transferred to Belize City for the autopsy.
Usher said Harmon’s son had arrived in country, and is making arrangements for his father’s body to be returned home.
Rear Admiral Greg Soberanis, Commandant of the Belize coast guard, also said they had yet to locate the woman that was on the vessel.
“We have received indication as to the female that was on board,” said Smith. “What I can say is that she is reported to have been rescued by a cruise ship that was in the area, and her identity has been known, and she would’ve communicated with a relative of the deceased, Mr. Harmon, about the incident.”
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