On Tuesday, January 9th, American tourist Steven Mark Kurenitz, 76, died in Caye Caulker while swimming at the popular spot called ‘The Split.’ His death is attributed to drowning, and police have started an investigation into the unfortunate incident.
According to an official report, Kurenitz, a retired visitor from Minnesota, USA, was visiting Caye Caulker, an island destination off the east coast of central Belize. On Tuesday morning, he went to the Split beach area and decided to swim along the channel, flanking the beach. A couple of minutes later, Kurenitz’s body was spotted floating face down. He was unresponsive. With the assistance of some bystanders, his was retrieved from the water.
There were attempts to save his life via Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) without success. He was rushed to the Caye Caulker Health Centre, but they could not save him. Kurenitz was pronounced dead at 12:25PM. His wife, Maryanne Catherine Kurenitz, was called to identify her deceased husband. The report noted that no physical injuries were observed on the body, and foul play was not suspected.
Kurenitz was transported to Belize City Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital’s morgue for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
Drowning incidents at the Split has been rare, with a few taking place in the past. In July 2020, San Pedro resident Barrington Moss, 50, was found lifeless off Caye Caulker’s west coast near the Split area. A post-mortem revealed the cause of death was drowning.
