Exactly one week after Ellis Dawson was found dead in the Belize Rover near Henderson Bank in Burrell Boom, today another male body was found in the Belize River.
And so, tonight, the family of 24 year-old Maurice Duce is finishing up funeral arrangements for him after his body was retrieved this afternoon.
A post-mortem has been conducted which rules cause of death as a consequence of drowning, but his family doesn't believe that this is correct.
We'll have their response, but first, Daniel Ortiz has been on the story since morning, and here's what he's been able to find out:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
The news that a body was in the Belize River went out as early as a few minutes before 9 this morning. Apparently, it was spotted in section of the river where Raul's Rose Garden overlooks.
Police diligently responded, and a team of officers canvassed the river for any signs of it, launching from Manatee Lookout in Ladyville. That first search was fruitless, and so the officers left the area.
By midday, police got a tip that the body may be up the river closer the Haulover Bridge. So Police moved out, and this time they were successful.
The authorities retrieved it and took it to Burrell Boom, where they performed and on-site autopsy due to its state.
The Acting Regional Executive Officer briefed the media about the information that they had.
ASP Calbert Flowers - Acting Regional Executive Officer
"Sometime around 10:00 this morning we received a call from our control room of an apparent lifeless body floating in the river. We got the assistance of the Belize Defence Force in their vessel and sometimes around 11:00 the lifeless body of a dark skin male person was found floating face down in the Belize River between miles 6 and 7 off the Northern Highway. The body was taken out of the water and later identified as Maurice Duce and is a resident of Belize City. The body was in an advance state of decomposition, therefore a post mortem had to be carried out right away and the finding revealed that the body died from drowning."
It turns out that the body was that of 24 year-old Maurice Duce, a former police officer who resigned about a year ago. He was last seen by his family on Sunday. His father definitely does not agree with the findings of the autopsy.
Joseph Duce - Father of Deceased
"One of my daughter called me and said they found a body and they think that it was my son. I told her I don't think so because he's not in the condition for that to happen. I came from around 2 and I heard that from around 12:30 when I got to Tourism Village, Mr. Grinage told me that there was bad news because they found my son dead because he used to be a police man and he used to work with them. So I came up to see where they are having the post mortem and I came to my son."
Reporter
"What are they telling you happened?"
Joseph Duce
"They said he drowned but there wasn't any violence."
Reporter
"But you do not believe that."
Joseph Duce
"Well I don't think anyone can believe that but that is what they said."
Reporter
"What do you believe happened?"
Joseph Duce
"In this situation I don't know who will go all the way by the river for anything, something happened and they threw him there that's all I can say."
And Joseph Duce says that even though police don't even suspect foul-play, he believes that the case will progress, and his son's death will not go unresolved
Joseph Duce
"Only God knows. I'm a Hatian and I come from Haiti and one of these days I will get my justice. God will help me to get it."
Late this evening, his family was given custody of his body so that they can bury him due to the advanced state of decomposition.
Even though the post-mortem says drowning, police say that they will continue to investigate.
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