Jamaica: Partially decomposed body found in Canal in St Catherine

Police are investigating after a man’s partially decomposed body was discovered in a canal near Hartlands, with authorities working to determine his identity and cause of death.

Written by Amara Campbell

Published 2026-02-26 19:32:52

Updated 2026-02-26 21:45:05

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Jamaica Police at the location.

Jamaica: Police in St Catherine are currently investigating the death of an unidentified man after his partially decomposed body was discovered in a canal near the Hartlands community on Monday, February 23, 2026.

According to St Catherine police reports, officers received a complaint by some anonymous person on Monday, at around 12:30 p.m., who reported to investigators that the decomposed body of a man was lying on the river way.

Responding to that, officers immediately went to the location of the canal near the Hartlands community, which is located off Old Harbour Road, where on arrival officers discovered a partially decomposed body of a man which was half submerged in the canal.

The officers then took out the partially submerged body of man from the canal and checked his body for any signs of violence and any identity card but found nothing. The officers then removed his body from the scene and sent it to the mortuary where the post-mortem examination will be conducted to know the reason behind his death.

Since then the officer launched an investigation into the matter and also processed the scene to gather evidence. During their investigation the officers were told by the person who contacted them that when he was passing by the area, he stumbled on something and upon checking he saw the dead body of a man.

Authorities of St Catherine stated the investigators are probing the matter and the body has been removed for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of his death. They also stated that the identity of the man has not been established yet but officers are working actively to gather information about the deceased.

The community of St Catherine and Hartlands are shocked over the incident as many people showed their concern over the death of man. Some people took to Facebook to express their feeling as one of the users Marva Ruth commented “Rest in peace brother. Hope your identity will soon be established so that your family can do your cremation ceremony.”