Howard Walker, a maintenance worker at Oil Nut Bay, was found dead on the rocks close to the resort’s shoreline on Sunday afternoon, Police Information Officer Diane Drayton stated in a Monday press release.
After finishing his shift around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Mr. Walker, a 53-year-old Jamaican, went fishing “on the other side of the island,” Ms. Drayton stated on Monday.
She added that resort employees became concerned the next morning when he did not show up to work and did not answer his phone.
An employee later found his body lying on the rocks and unreachable by land, Ms. Drayton stated, adding that fishing gear along with a bucket of fish were found in the area.
Virgin Islands Search and Rescue volunteers retrieved the body, and Mr. Walker was pronounced dead at noon, Ms. Drayton stated.
In a Sunday afternoon press release, Ms. Drayton wrote, “This death is not considered suspicious at this time. No other details are available.”
On Tuesday, a Magistrates’ Court official declined to comment on whether an autopsy had been carried out, saying that the coroner’s office, which is part of the magistracy, only gives that information to the family of the deceased or the investigating officer.
Representatives from Oil Nut Bay declined to comment on Tuesday.