“He was just pretty reliable and he had not missed any days in the 6 weeks I’d been working with him,” Nathan Visel a St. John resident said.
Nathan Visel thought it was odd when his co-worker didn’t show up to work the same day a body was found at the National Park Visitor Center dock in St. John.
Visel said the next day was payday and the man never showed up for his check or to let his employer know where he was.
That’s when Visel contacted the St. John Police Department.
“I left several message with St. John and St. Thomas departments. I was reached back the next week to go look at some pictures of the deceased to identify him and yeah, it was him,” he said.
“I worked side by side with that man for a month and a half. I had just dropped him off in town the night before it happened.”
Visel said after that he heard nothing from the police department and found it odd that several weeks later no name was released.
So after Visel reached out to us with his story we contacted the St. John Police Department ourselves.
“In my career, no I cannot say that it usually takes this long because I field a lot of questions about this so you know we’re just going to keep pressing and see what’s the hold up,” St. John Police Chief David Cannonier said.
He said they need to corroborate Visel’s story with more information like an ID card or finger prints.
Cannonier tells USVI NEWS they’re still waiting for information from the medical examiner.
“We are hoping that whatever information we get back from the medical examiner, that this finger print is so and so’s and try to identify him. But we also don’t know how long he was in the water those kind of things. However, the word is out that we’re trying to identify.”
Cannonier assured us he will be following up with the Lieutenant that met with Visel and try to get to the bottom of this ongoing story.
Until then Visel and the St. John community await those answers.
If you have information regarding this case you can contact Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS or contact the VI POLICE DEPARTMENT Criminal Investigation Bureau.
