NORTH EAST CAYE, Mon. Nov. 16, 2020– Police have reported that they could not determine what caused the death of Francisco Domingo Tzalam, 29, a resident of Livingston, Guatemala, who was found floating at around 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, about 1 mile off North East Caye in the southern waters of Belize.

Belize Coast Guard personnel came upon and retrieved the body, which was found floating face down and was already bloated and in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Guatemalan media reported that Tzalam, also known as “Chico”, went missing on November 7 after he left Livingston Cabecera gas station and disappeared.   His boat, “Cayuco,” was found abandoned on the banks of a beach by the Bay of Amatique, Guatemala.

ACP Joseph Myvette, Officer in charge of the National Crime Investigation Branch, explained that the cause of Tzalam’s death was undetermined: “Upon inspection of the body, an identification card in that name was found on his person that was later followed up by family members who did come across from Guatemala.

“A post-mortem exam was later conducted on that body, but due to the advanced state of decomposition, the cause of death was undetermined.

“We have been in contact with the Guatemalan consulate as well as our law enforcement counterparts across there, but from the observation, there were no signs of physical injury on the body,” Myvett further explained.

Tzalam’s body was released into the custody of his family and through coordination with the Guatemalan Consulate, they were able to transport the body to Guatemala for burial.