Man Trying to Sail Around the World Found Dead on His Yacht After Going Missing Last Month
A man who was attempting to sail around the world has been found dead in the Caribbean.
The body of Mark Brennan, who was reported missing in December, was found in his boat in Jamaica, the BBC reported Thursday.
Despite his ambitious endeavor, Brennan, 42, from South Shields, Britain, was an “inexperienced sailor,” according to Boat Watch.
His 30-foot yacht, the Avrio, was found about 72 nautical miles off the north coast of Jamaica, where it was then towed to shore, the Jamaica Observer reported on Wednesday.
Brennan’s body was reportedly already decaying by the time it was found, Boat Watch said.
Brennan was last seen on Dec. 6 in Grenada, where it had arrived four days prior, Boat Watch reported. The Avrio had lost its dinghy during the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel reportedly had no cell phone or radio aboard.
He was reported missing to the Northumbria Police in the United Kingdom on Dec. 21, the BBC reported.
A police spokesperson told the outlet that they had been “made aware that authorities in Jamaica have recovered a body on a boat.”
“A formal identification process is ongoing but it is suspected that the body is that of the South Shields man,” the spokesperson said.
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“The man’s family are being offered support by officers and they have requested that their privacy is respected at this time,” Northumbria police told The Independent.
“We are supporting the family of a British man reported as missing in the Caribbean, and are in contact with the Jamaican authorities,” the U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement to the outlet.
Authorities in Jamaica are investigating Brennan’s death, according to the Jamaica Observer.
The Northumbria police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
