Retired Winnipeg man found dead in river in Central American country of Belize

Belize (shutterstock image)

WINNIPEG — A retired Winnipeg man has been found dead in a river in the Central American country of Belize.

James Searles, 59, had flown into Belize on the weekend to meet up with his new bride.

Searles and Nicole Warner, 45, had been married in September.

In an interview with Belize Channel 5 television, police Supt. Dinsdale Thompson said Searles was picked up by his wife at the airport on Saturday, the couple went out for drinks and then returned to her home in the small rural community of Bullet Tree Falls.

Thompson said Warner woke up to find Searles gone, and went to the police station to report her husband missing.

The officer said the man’s body was found naked except for a jacket in a river about 200 metres away.

“We have not found any visible signs of injuries on the body,” Thompson said. “However, we have not ruled out anything so far.”

Searles’ family in Canada said they were in shock.

“The family is mourning and grieving,” his daughter, Jennifer Stringer, said from her home in British Columbia.

“The reality hasn’t set in.”

Searles had recently retired as a provincial government mechanic.