May 29, 2002 – Police appealed for help from the St. Thomas community Wednesday in providing information about a man whose body was found on the evening of May 21 in the Black Point Hill area west of the University of the Virgin Islands campus.
A release faxed from the office of Deputy Chief Theodore Carty included a copy of a wallet-type head-and-shoulders photograph of a smiling Caucasian male appearing to be of early middle age.
The release stated that Major Crime Unit investigators were "asking anyone with information on this man's family identity to call the Investigations Bureau at 715-5522 or police emergency at 911."
(Sgt. Roberto Lima said Thursday evening that police know the identity of the man but are withholding information pending notification of the next of kin. Lima said another number to call with information is 715-5534.)
A police release issued on May 22 had stated that the body was found at about 6:50 p.m. the previous evening, down an embankment from a roadway "in the area of Black Point Hill." In that release, Carty stated that a traffic enforcement officer reported finding the body after police received several complaints of odor in the vicinity.
"The deceased was a white male, dressed in brown shorts, blue and white shirt and sandals," that release said. "The body appeared to have been there for a number of days."
Dr. Francisco Landron, the territory's medical examiner, told WVWI Radio News on Friday that the cause of death did not involve foul play — that there was no evidence of the man having been killed. Police sources said the case remains classified as a death investigation.
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