Photo: Egbert Mckoy, deceased

by Charles Gladden

SAN IGNACIO, Cayo District, Wed. Mar. 15, 2023

Two men from the Twin Towns of San Ignacio/Santa Elena in the Cayo District, were found dead two days apart on the bank of the Macal River in San Ignacio Town; and indications so far are that neither died from drowning. The two men were identified as Luis Gabourel, also known as “Dido”, 58; and Egbert McKoy, Jr., 33, a public servant for over 15 years.

According to reports. on Monday, March 13, sometime after 3:00 p.m., Gabourel was found motionless on the bank of the river near the low-lying wooden bridge that connects the twin towns. There were no apparent injuries on his body, leading to early speculation that he might have been a drowning victim. However, later reports have indicated that Gabourel suffered from an alcohol addiction and would experience episodes of epilepsy.

Gabourel lived with his father, Edward Gabourel, in Santa Elena Town, and the last time his father saw him was when he departed to view the start of the La Ruta Maya race over a week ago and didn’t return.

A couple days before the discovery of Gabourel’s body, Egbert McKoy was also found in a similar area at around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11; but when his body was discovered, there were signs that he had been beaten, and it was claimed in some reports that he was hanging from a rope near the river.

McKoy’s body was taken to the San Ignacio Community Hospital, and when police arrived they saw a large cut wound underneath his neck and observed that his teeth had been knocked out, leading them to conclude that he was killed.

Back in 2002, Egbert McKoy, who was a child at the time, was featured in a news segment after he represented Santa Elena RC Primary School in the Coca-Cola National Spelling Bee and won the competition.

Postmortem examinations are yet to be conducted on the bodies of Mckoy and Gabourel to officially determine the cause of death of the two Santa Elena residents.