Turks and Caicos police are investigating a suspected homicide after an unidentified body was discovered during the search for missing New York City man Brian Tarrence.
Island police said on Sunday that a man’s body was found around 9:05 a.m. on Saturday
The body found around Grace Bay was “in a state of decomposition”, police said. No identification has been made.
“The Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force extends sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. We urge members of the public to refrain from speculation and allow the investigation process to confirm the identity through official channels,” Acting Commissioner Rodney Adams said.
The gruesome find occurred during a search for Brian Tarrence, a 51-year-old New Yorker who disappeared late last month while on vacation with his wife.
He was last seen on June 25 after going on a boat ride and to dinner with his wife.
Police and a private investigator hired by the family found surveillance video showing Tarrence leaving the couple’s Airbnb in Grace Bay around 3:40 a.m. headed toward the island’s downtown area. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and had his wallet and phone with him at the time before vanishing.
“I’m looking to find something that shows where he was last, whether it be a charge card or a phone. Then, maybe I’m leaning towards more criminality than anything else,” private investigator Carl Defazio told NBC New York.
The former NYPD detective told the station Tarrance had no known health issues.
“If he was robbed, by now I think I would have seen a credit card charge, or found his wallet, or found him, you know,” DeFazio told CBS News New York.