Farmer Finds “Mummified” Remains

A St. Croix farmer found human remains on his property Thursday. Cause of death was unclear as the body appeared to be “mummified,” police said. (Google Maps photo)

A St. Croix farmer walking his fence line found a body in such an advanced state of decomposition that it appeared mummified, police said Sunday.

The Jealousy farmer called police Thursday morning to report the corpse, which appeared to be a male, police said.

“Contact was made with the farmer and he stated that he is a cattle farmer and was checking the fence line around his farm when he came across the mummified human remains. He stated the last time he checked the fence line perimeter was about two weeks ago,” said Glen Dratte, the Virgin Islands Police Department’s director of communications.

The remains were found in a fetal position in between the fence wires, Dratte said. The body was in such an advanced stage of decomposition that a positive identification was not immediately able to be made. The person had a large gray and black beard, Dratte said.

The remains were collected by morgue attendants. The cause of death remained undetermined as of Sunday, he said.