7 News Belize

Brian Townsend Is Confirmed Dead
posted (January 2, 2014)
A half hour ago, 7News confirmed with Benque Viejo Police and with Kory Townsend that the body buried in Melchor, Guatemala is indeed the missing Canadian, Brian Townsend.

On the family Facebook page they released a statement which say's quote, "With grieving hearts we inform you that the body found in Guatemala is Brian Townsend." End Quote.

It is the worst news that Townsend's Belizean and Canadian families can receive, and now that the uncertainty is over, they begin their grieving process. 7News was in Benque Viejo and Valley of Peace, and Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Ever since word from Guatemala arrived that there is an unidentified body in that country that could be Brian Townsend, his family has switched gears from being hopeful, to a desire for closure.

Kory Townsend - Son of Brian Townsend
"Hope has been kind of all we've been have up to this point. Hope is not something that we have anymore. Closure is what we are pursuing at this point. It's been a wild couple of days; I've been emotional very much so in the last couple of days. My father would have wanted me to pursue this and finished it out, complete the task. I am doing that for not only myself but my entire family back home. The final confirmation is kind of what we are waiting for not only for closure for the entire family but to make this official and to make it - moving to the next level with death certificates and funeral homes. We need to have final confirmation, so that's what we are waiting for."

Kory and his Belizean assistants came here to the Guatemalan Consulate in Benque Viejo to prepare documents for the body's transfer to Belize, should that final confirmation arrive that it is indeed Brian.

Kory Townsend - Son of Brian Townsend
"Right now we are trying to get documentation to bring the body back. We are not 100% sure if it is him. We are still waiting on confirmation. It's a difficult process trying to get the Guatemalan police to collaborate with the Belizean police. This is why we are here. We need the proper documents to cross into the border to even verify that it is even my father."

But, while Kory and others make preparations for the possibility that he has died, the villagers of Valley of Peace celebrated his life while he was there with them for the past 9 years.

They held a memorial service in his honor this afternoon at the Seventh Day Adventist College that he built for them.

Hon. Julius Espat - Representative, Cayo South
"I knew Mr. Brain. I knew of the good deeds that he has done for this village. Where we are standing here is an example of those good deeds. In fact he was a major part of making this school a reality. He was a God man; man that believes in God and not only spoke it, he practiced it and therefore I am here because my people are hurting. They are in pain, they are crying, they are suffering because they loved this man and his life was taken away. I am just here to be with them to share in that sorrow."

Kory Townsend - Son of Brian Townsend
"He was a visionary. He believed in ideas and was an adamant advocator of action, not lip service; let's do something, let's not talk about it. I think that ultimately was in mission. This was just an extension of that. That's why he was here because he found the need here that aligned with that vision."

Valley of Peace gets to share that sorrow they feel for Brian; Kory, on the other hand, he needs to contain his grief so that he can work on the closure that everyone is seeking.

Kory Townsend - Son of Brian Townsend
"I don't have a choice, for me to break right now is not who I am."

The family's Facebook statement continues, "We want you to know how much it meant to us, the support and prayers we've received from all of you…We have celebrated what Brian has been able to do in Belize, and the difference that he has made in Valley of Peace,"

They also gave special thanks to the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala for assisting them to get to this point. We spoke to the officer commanding Benque Viejo Police, Superintendent Dinsdale Thompson, who told us that the next step is to finalize the confirmation so that a death certificate can be issued, and then it is up to the Townsend family what will happen to Brian's body, which remains buried in Melchor at this time.

Belize police are working with police form Flores Peten in trying to catch the alleged killer who is believed to be in Guatemala.

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