The decomposed body of a Guatemalan, identified as Heber De Jesus Tzin Alvarado, 47, a farmer of Dolores, Guatemala, has been returned to his family members for burial in his home village after the body was recovered in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve by a composite police-BDF patrol on Saturday, May 3, and taken to Santa Elena for an autopsy that was performed yesterday, Sunday, May 4, at the Western Regional Hospital to certify the cause of his death.

The body was to have been buried at the conclusion of the autopsy in Santa Elena, but the family requested that the body be returned to them, and the corpse was returned yesterday, Sunday, May 4.

Police reported that Alvarado had been shot multiple times. Gunshots wounds were seen in the left side of his ribcage area, and he also had a gunshot wound in the left leg, one in the left side of his head and another in the mid portion of his back.

Inspector Reymundo Reyes, the Deputy Commander of San Ignacio police, said that the discovery of the body was made at about 2:15 on Thursday afternoon, May 1, by Alvarado’s family, who were looking for him in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve.

They contacted the police, who went to the area with the Belize Defence Force, where they saw the decomposed body.

The family told police that they last saw Alvarado at about 10:30 Monday morning, April 28, in the village, and became worried when he did not come home. They then began to search for him and went to the Chiquibul area, where they found him on Thursday, Labor Day, May 1.

Police have begun an investigation into the death of the Guatemala national.