A man’s dead body has been tragically found washed up on a beach in a holiday hotspot popular with Brits.
Police from the force in Alicante said they found the unidentified body on Wednesday evening on the beach in Benidorm, Spain, and were desperately working to figure out the person’s identity. The shocking death comes after a string of worrying crimes that have littered the holiday hotspot loved by Brits – and the surrounding Costa Blanca region – from drug trafficking to other mysterious deaths and murders. A spokesperson for local police said the dead body belonged to a white male but no identifying documents were found on him at the time.
This spokesperson, according to The Sun, said: “We can confirm that a body was found on a beach in Benidorm last night. The individual has not been identified as there was no ID on his person.”
Police were reportedly not able to provide more information as they said their main objecting was figuring out the dead man’s identity.
It comes after man from Belfast was reported missing when he failed to board a flight back home from a trip to the Costa Blanca area, but police made a heartbreaking discovery weeks later.
John George’s body was found “decomposing” and stabbed and shot in the face, as cops later confirmed the dad-of-two had been murdered. The spot where the body was found was under trees on a private property in a rural area of Rojales.
The solicitor for John George’s family, who is also known by the surname Hardy, said the victim’s dad, Bill George, had received a call from Spanish detectives to informhim that his son’s remains had been found. In a statement, Kevin Winters said: “Mr Billy George was told that his son’s body was now in a morgue, awaiting formal identification.
“The family are both distressed, but also relieved at this latest news. It brings to an end an extremely tortuous search process for the body.”
A 26-year-old man arrested in connection with the murder was named in international arrest warrants as Jonny Smyth. The warrants were circulated by Interpol after he fled Spain following John George’s disappearance.
He later appeared at an extradition hearing at a court in Portugal. Smyth, originally from Belfast, was arrested in Portugal after he had been staying at an apartment in the historic area of the city of Braga.
Portuguese police set up a surveillance operation before arresting Smyth. Appearing before the Guimarães Court of Appeal, Smyth did not oppose the extradition. He was remanded back in custody before his extradition to Spain.
Other Brits have also been found dead in the region, such as a 53-year-old man who was found lifeless at a Costa Blanca port, in January. The unnamed Brit had moored a boat he is said to have lived on in the pleasure port earlier in the week after arriving from the nearby town of Altea, but his death was believed to be a tragic accident.
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