This has been a tough week in Phuket. Australia tourist who went missing on the 7th of May was uncovered floating near Freedom Beach, unfortunately dead. Even more unsettling? His sole piece of clothing were dark boxer shorts.
A lifeguard lifting his head above sea level while on patrol spotted the body roughly 20 meters offshore. Immediately after spotting the corpse, the safety crew went to that location. While battling against ferocious currents— which nearly threw-over their tug-of-war— the body had to be pulled to shore. It was a dragging but sorrowful retrieval.
His spouse had filed a missing person report nearly one week prior to his remains being found. While law enforcement has yet to publicly disclose his name, next-of-kin have already been notified. His name will is kept under wraps but the report will eventually spill details to the public. Autopsy will be conducted at Vachira Phuket Hospital, which is his current residence.
Lieutenant Colonel Wiwat Chamnankit of the local police offered a theory for what might have happened. “Isn’t it obvious he looks like this tourist just lost some random island? Pretty much doubt that!” meant the officer comment trying to explain in outward form the less likely approach – “seems more plausible he tried to swim back and worked his way up through the current.” “As entertaining as that is,” continues “tourists really shouldn’t try swimming in open water during bad weather without a guide.”
Sedgwick Kelly’s incident is not the singular case of this type of death in the well-known beach regions of Thailand. CCTV footage showed him running together with some other man who was closely following him.
The immense grief endured by his family was bewildering considering how puzzling the details of his life were left untold. Answers were impossible to find which resulted in total chaos spanning throughout the family. His lifeless body puzzled law enforcement and needed answers urgently.
Both incoming tourists and local have been worried about these sudden occurrences. Even though most people wish to travel to Phuket, it serves as a reminder that Thailand is not always the paradise everyone envisions.
