by Mick the Ram

The body of a 60 year old British man who has been missing in Jamaica since 5 November, has been found in a deeply vegetated area.

Robert Dyer from Lewisham, South East London went out alone for a nature walk in Ballards Valley, in the south-west of the island last Sunday, but seemingly got lost.

His body was discovered at 09.15 local time on Thursday, 9 November during a huge search and rescue operation, being coordinated by Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Mr Dyer who was a retired fitness instructor, was two days into a long-awaited retreat and was planning to stay for a full month with his 56-year-old younger brother Henry and his niece, in St Elizabeth, as part of his recovery following a serious health scare.

He was reliant upon vital medication for a heart complaint, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure, none of which he had with him when he set out on his walk, which meant it was a race against time to find him alive.

Over 100 police officers with helicopter support, the national army, rescue dogs, and more than 250 Ballards Valley residents had been assisting emergency services in the hunt for Mr Dyer, often through the night in pitch darkness, but sadly their heroic efforts proved to be in vain.

The police have said no foul play is suspected in his death.

Desperate situation

The devastating news was broken to the family of Mr Dyer, who have been frantic ever since his wife Anne, 61, made contact with Robert on Monday 6th and became aware of the situation her husband of 35 years had found himself in.

Ringing him from their London home she realised how serious the position was and along with the rest of the family, had been doing everything to try and identify his whereabouts.

Dehydration setting in

Their son Lewis, who lives in Málaga, Spain, speaking prior to the news breaking of his father’s body being found, said the phone call between his parents was heartbreaking. Robert had told Anne that he had become immobile and had described himself as being stuck in a ditch.

His mother had told Lewis that his Dad was sounding completely delirious and at some point of the conversation had indicated that he thought he was in his home, in his own bathroom. He also said he could not see at all at that point, which Lewis said must have been as a result of missing his medication and probable dehydration.

Always a race against time

Desperate efforts to contact him over the following days failed, due most likely to his phone losing its charge. Lewis, who has two children himself, recognised that his Dad had limited time in which to be found before it would be too late and had been hoping drones with thermal imaging could possibly scour the dense bush in a desperate last effort to locate him alive.

Worst fears realised

Sadly, everyone’s worst fears came true when first of all Mr Dyer’s trekking stick was found by a group of volunteers, which allowed the search area to be drastically narrowed, and shortly afterwards his body was discovered.

It is understood that a forensic examination will be carried out.

So sad after brave fight

Robert overcame prostate cancer earlier this year and had been doing charity work, as well as delivering talks to men about how to deal with and overcome cancer. His own cancer was spotted in 2022 at an advanced stage, but he bravely found the strength to bear it and eventually beat it.

He was in good spirits and his health had improved sufficiently for him to take his Jamaican trip, which he had so been looking forward to. That makes the events of the past week even more desperate for the family to come to terms with.