Decomposed body pulled from Berbice River

The partially decomposed body of a Wiruni village man was pulled from the Upper Berbice River in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Tuesday. Investigators suspect that the deceased, 50-year old Herman Thomas of the Upper Berbice community, might have drowned sometime between August 16 and 18.
Village Toshao Wayvon King told investigators that Thomas recently returned to the village about a month and a half ago after he had left for several years. He has no relatives residing in the village. Thomas was last seen on August 16 imbibing in the village. Reports are at about 11:30h on Tuesday, a passerby observed the body floating in the Wiruni River. It was clad in a white vest and black three-quarter pants. The Toshao and other villagers were alerted and they responded by retrieving the body from the river. The body was reportedly examined by the Toshao and no visible marks of violence were observed on the exposed areas, according to Police reports. As such, the body was placed into a wooden box and buried with a view of exhumation since there was reportedly no mortuary or housing for dead bodies in the area. (G13)