Bodies of 2 missing Dangriga men found

By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Apr. 20, 2026

   The bodies of two Dangriga men whose families had reported them missing, have been found in suspicious circumstances, while another remains missing.

   Police found the body of Steve Lewis, 24, a delivery man of Dangriga, in a body of water off a feeder road in Silk Grass Village on Friday morning, April 17.

   Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith informed the media on Monday afternoon that investigators could not determine the cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition of Lewis’ body, and they are looking for one male suspect to assist their investigation. She further noted that only a post mortem examination would determine conclusively the cause of death; but that an empty shell casing was found at the scene, so it is possible that Lewis died of a gunshot wound.

   His mother, Suceli Lewis, reported him missing on Tuesday, April 14, after she had not heard from him for 24 hours. She said that Lewis left home around 8 o’clock on Monday morning to make a delivery to a farm in Silk Grass Village.

   Last Thursday, April 16, Dangriga police summoned the family of Jericho Humes, 37, to identify his body, which was in such an advanced state of decomposition that his relatives were only able to identify him by the clothing he wore when he had last left home.

   Humes left home on Wednesday, April 1, when he was transported to work on a farm near Lynam College in the Stann Creek District. The owner of the farm reported Humes as missing after he went to pick him up on April 7 and Humes was nowhere to be found. Instead he found a cap that Humes habitually wore—burnt and lying on the ground, and a pot of cooked rice was left untouched and had gone sour.

   ASP Stacy Smith told reporters that the Dangriga police are also looking for two individuals who they believe can assist their investigation into the disappearance of Lidahni Martinez, 23, of Dangriga. Martinez’s common law wife told police on Tuesday, April 7, that Martinez had left home around 3 o’clock in an SUV on Friday afternoon, March 27, and she had not heard from him since. Investigators have recorded statements from several persons as part of this investigation.

   It is coincidental that Martinez went missing on the same day, March 27, when Deborah “Bree” Arthurs went missing in similar circumstances in Belize City, but ASP Smith said the police have not been able to establish any connection between Arthurs’ disappearance and that of Martinez.