The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Report

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREEPORT - A gruesome discovery was made on Tuesday morning when a badly decomposed body was found inside a container on a vacant property on Adventurer's Way.

Although the identity of the victim is not known, police report that the remains are of a man believed to be in his late 60's.

Sources, however, tell The Tribune that the deceased man was known in the community as "Foxy".

According to reports, police received a call around 9.45am of a bad smell in the Adventurer's Way area.

Asst Supt Loretta Mackey, press liaison officer, said officers were dispatched to Adventurer's Way, opposite Murchinson Drive, where they discovered the decomposed body of a man inside a white 40ft trailer.

The remains were removed and taken in a hearse to the Rand Memorial Hospital morgue.

Ms Mackey said foul play is not suspected, but police are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Officers of the Central Detective Unit are continuing their investigations into the matter.

"We are seeking the assistance of relatives or members of the community regarding the deceased man who is in his late 60s," ASP Mackey said.

Pastor Robert Lockhart of Calvary Temple Assembly of God Church came to the scene after learning news of the incident.

The six-acre property is owned by the church. Construction began some 10 years ago on a Community Family Recreation Centre, however the building was never completed.

Pastor Lockhart said installation for the building was kept inside the container.

"I was totally surprised when I got a call this morning...that they had found a decomposed body in the container," he told The Tribune.

"I was informed that someone had been walking through the property and smelled a very strong odour coming from the container and the police were contacted."

According to Pastor Lockhart, some five or six months ago they had discovered a man living inside the container.

"We were called there before when one of our church employees was looking for something in the container and...found a gentleman in there that was almost unconscious.

"He was still conscious but could not move. He had made a bed in the container and was living in there. We called an ambulance and they took him to the hospital.

"I understand that he was better and back to moving around, but they (the police) could not verify whether that (the deceased man) was the same person.

"I would hate to think he went back to living in there again because when the doors are closed, with the heat and lack of oxygen, there is no way you could survive in there."

Pastor Lockhart said it appeared that the deceased man was living in the container because a makeshift bed and empty food containers were inside.

The container, he said, was very old and twisted, and could not be locked because the door hinges were not properly aligned.

"It has been there on the property for probably over 10 years," Pastor Lockhart said.

"I never thought someone would go and live in there. I was disappointed to hear that someone went there and tried to live in there. And so we will have to see what we can do with that container," he said.