Vehicle Used to Dump Deceased Man Near Hospital Caught on Security Cameras
A little after 2 a.m. on March 28, a security guard for the Southern Humboldt Community Hospital District discovered a deceased man, 55-year-old Christopher Duke from the Garberville/Redway area, at the foot of an emergency ramp.
The person or persons who left him there “tucked him into a very dark corner,” explained Kent Scown Chief Operating Officer for the Hospital District and Chief of the Garberville Fire Protection District. The streetlight in that area is out.
Scown said that a security camera captured the vehicle which brought the deceased’s body. Around midnight, he said, a car drove up to the emergency room. “Their lights go off as they go around the building….They literally pull up to the side of the building and creep around….They did as stealth of a drop off as they can do.” After the car backed out, the lights went back on and the vehicle drove away.
However, Scown said that he doesn’t believe that the occupant(s) were trying to conceal having harmed the deceased. “Based upon the possessions that were left upon the man, it doesn’t look like this was a sinister act,” he said.
Deputy Coroner Trevor Enright agreed, “The belongings that were left alongside the body included money, boots and his jacket and a pint of whiskey.”
Nonetheless, Scown said, “It is a little disconcerting that people are dumping a body…I’ve seen dead people brought here but I’ve never seen the leaving of a corpse without notifying anybody.”
An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 30.
Earlier Chapter: Deceased Man Dumped Near Garberville Hospital Emergency Room Might Have Been There for Over an Hour, Says Deputy Coroner
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Leave it up to kym to have the latest news .you rock class mate .
I’m sorry but just because the deceased man was still wearing his boots and had money in his pocket isn’t enough to convince me that there was no ‘sinister act’ involved. To me this is a VERY strange situation. I’m not trying to say there was foul play involved, but if there really wasn’t then why make a stealth drop off of a corpse at a hospital unless you have something to hide? I know If i had nothing to hide, there would have been no reason to make a stealthy drop or a drop at all, I would have gladly talked to the police to clear things up. Just my opinion.
They aren’t saying that nothing else illegal was going on. However, the man’s boots, money and jacket were placed beside him. An autopsy tomorrow should show more but from what the people I’ve interviewed said, there were no obvious signs of foul play.
Hi kym, ya I just think it’s really odd that some person / people that had committed no crime would choose to drop off a corpse instead of doing the proper thing and waiting to talk to the authoritys. Just doesn’t seem like something that someone with nothing to hide would do. Guess we will find out though.
I know of people who were dumped outside a hospital that died from overdose.
In Humboldt County where numerous people have grows in their home, it isn’t all that surprising that someone would be afraid of law enforcement showing up at their scene to collect a dead man. (That doesn’t make it right. I’m just offering a possible explanation.)
Exactly, some people just don’t want the authorities snoopin around their pad just because someone expired naturally. I’ve seen worse…
Because they were probably heroin addicts and Junkies, they’re too afraid of answering all the questions that would have been asked. might get their ass in trouble. It’s all about them not the person that died.
So glad they had camera’s.thanks for the info
Your writing is usually fantastic, but an edit might be a good idea. Sounds like they are going to do the autopsy at the foot of the emergency ramp.
This is very sad that this man’s body wasn’t accorded proper respect and the law called to the site of his death.
I went in to fix something and instead screwed it up. Sigh.
This shows exactly what sort of low quality garbage town community we live in. The weed economy is also the demise, it’s destroyed the social fabric completely.
An entire county of low life quality people, pretentious all the way around!
An entire county wow! You must not live here because that would include you. I’m not saying this county doesn’t have issues but step off your high horse before you bash a whole county. Betty Chin was recognized by the president for her volunteer work and a Cove resident was just recognized by the governor. I know lots of great people here, one of my favorite people in the world was born and raised in Humboldt, she’s never been apart of the industry and would help anyone in need anytime!
Just look at the drug addict lazy bunch of mental cases already flocking in to town.
The method mules and the addicts, jungle living bunch of pack rats.
Defecating on the sidewalks and on headstones [edit]!
An entire county of criminals and low life quality people is what we have here.
Garbage town pack rat druggies living in the jungle next to the road, the law is worthless and they know it.
Meth mules walking our streets making deals all day in front of the yellow gas station, for our children to wonder what is happening here?
Well the weed economy is the demise and destroyed our social fabric while the ones that made their money are eating organic and shopping low key in the back there at chatauqua.
Get ready, this is just the beginning!
What kind of car was it?
Shoot the messenger why don’t ya? I don’t usually comment, but the criticism Kym receives about grammar/current information/punctuation is so unwarranted. I have been reading this s@#$ for months. It isn’t her job to speculate or assume. Stay on topic!
I’m sure all of our local reporters and publishers try their best. Are we all human. If u think u can do better…….open a webpage and get out there.
You’d expect correct spelling and grammar from someone who fancies them self blogger.
Rednecked blackbelt would be more like it with the 8th grade English level encountered here,…
If you don’t like it, then take a hike.
Nobody who says “someone who fancies them self blogger” gets to criticize someone else’s grammar.
Get a grip
Good job keeping up on this story. I would imagine drugs are involved. People make paranoid decisions when they’re high, or drug dealing. Poor guy probably overdosed and nobody wanted to answer questions. It’s a low life thing to do, but not a unique problem; read the news.
To those commenters saying that the entire county is full of bad people. There are a lot of good people left here in this county! We work, we volunteer, we raise families, and we fight off these low life’s everyday! We think about leaving this place behind, but we have families that have been here since before the freeway was laid, we’re not ready to give up. Humboldt is a beautiful place and the grass isn’t always greener somewhere else. This place is still better than living in the city!!
The more people who say a place sucks, the more the place begins to suck.
Snarling dogs get chains and cages; no one wants to go near them.
Snarling people cage themselves in misery and no one wants to go near them either.
Do the old school Humboldt, buck all trends. Say nice things about yourself, your neighbors, your area and your County and you’ll soon notice the difference. So will the rest of us.
Love it, so true!!! I learned that lesson the hard way but at least I learned it:)
This kind of thing never happens in the big city! Your doing a great job Kym! Keep us informed.
You can look at all the good times and good things people have done in Garberville and it certainly out weighs the few bad things that happen from time to time. Garberville has the same problems that every city has. News reporting focus is always on bad news. Garberville and most of the residents are very normal people. They are better people than most city dwellers. This is a great place to live.
Just look at the list of news being reported here. Maybe a little good news might make Carberville look a little better.
I give credit to the person who brought them there…and of course none of us know whatever struggle it was physically and emotionally to do so.
Obviously they felt at risk, were conflicted enough to not want to be id’d, yet STILL loaded him up and drove him there, and left his possessions.
No one here yet wants to suggest the person who placed him there was doing the best he or she could do given their own circumstances?
Possible reasons..a warrant, also drunk, drug possession, grow weed at home, 16 zillion reasons for this person to chose not to expose themselves by walking in with the deceased…i want to congratulate him for doing at least that.
And considering he could have dumped him anywhere else, a hospital is an obvious place to be id’d, caught, exposed to awake and responsible people.
That they took him there rather than dumped him in a back road ditch is a positive thing if not the best possible.
Leaving him there with his possessions speaks of some essential respect even if not the way you or I would respond.
finally O T observer a sane voice
Good job Kym;)
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