Body of a Woman Washes Up on a Beach in Hopkins Village

The body of a visitor to the village of Hopkins was found on the beach this morning. There is no identification nor was she a guest at any hotel in the village, so police are working to determine who Jane Doe is. A diver found her remains just after six a.m. and by this evening, the remains of Jane Doe was buried in the village following a postmortem exam. She was last seen alive on Wednesday afternoon. News Five’s Duane Moody was in the southern village that is a popular destination for visitors. Here is his report.

Duane Moody, Reporting

The southern village of Hopkins has readily become a top tourist destination in Belize and boasts over a mile of white sandy beach. But just after six this morning, a diver would make a gruesome find along the coastline. The decomposing body of a Caucasian woman had washed up on the beach in Hopkins. She was dressed in a khaki blouse, had on a waistband and green shorts with long blonde hair. One resident says that she recently came in contact with Jane Doe, who had indicated that she had misplaced her travel documents, but did not see or hear from her thereafter.

On the Phone: Supt. Leslie Wade, O.C., Dangriga Police Formation

“At about six-twenty-four a.m. acting upon information received, the Hopkins Police detachment visited a location on the south side of Hopkins Village, Stann Creek District, Upon their arrival there, they observed the motionless body of a fair complexion female persons lying on the beach in a partially decomposed [state].  This far, we have spoken to one Miss Barbara Moch, a retired American from within that area who said that she had seen her sometime on Wednesday, the twentieth of June, 2018 sometime around four p.m. where she spoke to her and she left at around six-fifteen p.m. towards the beach and that was the last time they seen her.”

Officer- in-Charge for the Dangriga Police Formation, Superintendent Leslie Wade says that an inspection of the body by Hopkins investigators indicates that there were no signs of foul play on the body of a woman believed to be in her thirties. A postmortem examination conducted today certified that the cause of death was drowning.

On the Phone: Supt. Leslie Wade

“A postmortem was conducted on Jane Doe this afternoon where doctors confirm the cause of death to be that of drowning. The police is still ongoing with investigation to try and confirm her identity.”

Her identity remains unknown at this time as Jane Doe carried no form of identification. It is known that she is not from the village and checks made at hotels and resorts confirm that none of the guests fit her description.

Ted McKoy

Ted McKoy, Chairman, Hopkins Village Council

“The sympathies of our community are with that person’s family. We do not know yet who they are but we cannot help but feel a sense of deep sympathy for them. It is an unfortunate and sad situation, but the community as a whole, the business community, the public sector, the police; we are all searching for answers. We have not been able to ID this person and we do not have any information on where in the village she was staying. None of the hotels resorts or anybody has reported anybody missing, so for now, all we can say is we do not know what has occurred.”

Village Council Chairman Ted McKoy says that the death of a tourist in the village is cause for concern and the community on a whole is working closely with the police as the investigation continues.

Ted McKoy

“There are some people that would come into the village and stay maybe in public places or camp on the beach. And normally that is perfectly safe and I believe that it is still perfectly safe. But this situation is troubling, to be honest. To me personally, it is a cause for concern, but as a community—like I said—we do not have enough information to formulate an opinion or a course of action. As a community, we would like to invite more people to come to Hopkins, but also to maintain a certain level of caution and protection for themselves. As a community, we will work with the police to improve security, patrolling the beaches is becoming more and more an important thing for Hopkins.”

Duane Moody for News Five.