Pregnant woman found dead at beach

Western Bureau:

The police in Montego Bay, St James, are now seeking the assistance of the public to identify a pregnant woman, whose body was found on the popular One Man Beach last Friday night.

"She was seen lying face down on the beach by passersby, who alerted the police," said Inspector Stanley Gordon, who is in charge of the Barnett Street Police Station. "When we responded, we discovered that she was dead. There were no visible signs of violence on her body."

With no form of identification on the body, which is of dark complexion and about five feet four inches tall and clad in a red dress, the police are asking members of the public and the relatives of any missing female, who might fit the description, to visit the morgue to see if they can assist in identifying the body.

"While we are yet to determine the cause of death, it is most unfortunate that yet another female has been found dead in this parish," said Gordon. "While we are carrying out our own investigations, we are also awaiting a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death."

Of the 68 persons murdered in St James since the start of the year, a substantial number of the victims are females, mostly teenagers.

"I can't help but wonder what she could be doing alone on the beach in her state. Everybody from around Montego Bay knows that One Man Beach can be quite dangerous at night," a female sex worker, who operates on the hip strip, told the Western STAR yesterday. "A lot of robberies and rapes take place on this beach so very few people go on it at nights."