Esta mañana se localizó el cuerpo del extranjero desaparecido en Jacó. pic.twitter.com/xFyKw3EQtA
— Cruz Roja Costarricense (@CruzRojaCRC) May 15, 2015
The Costa Rican Red Cross reported Friday morning that it had likely retrieved the body of a 34-year-old U.S. man who disappeared on Sunday afternoon, May 10.
The missing U.S. man was swimming on Jacó’s main beach Sunday when a riptide pulled him out to sea, according to Red Cross spokesman Freddy Roman. The body was spotted more than 2 miles out to sea by an Aerial Vigilance Service search-and-rescue flight Friday morning.
A boat was dispatched to collect the body, which was brought ashore at Madrigal Beach, not far from Jacó. Roman said that large waves and ocean currents complicated the search.
The Judicial Investigation Police has yet to confirm the identity of the victim due to the body’s decomposed state, OIJ spokeswoman Xinia Zamora said.
According to statistics from the Red Cross, 19 people died in water-related accidents in 2014 in the province of Puntarenas, home to Jacó and many of Costa Rica’s famous beaches.
Along with its search for the missing U.S. man, the Red Cross reported several other missing persons cases this week. Searches are ongoing for a 19-year old who went missing between San Rafael and San Isidro in Heredia on Tuesday, and for a 25-year-old who disappeared near EARTH University in Guácimo, Limón. Another drowning victim was recovered last week near the Pirrís Dam south of the capital, San José.
