2 U.S. Nationals Found Dead in Belize; Authorities Launch Separate Investigations

Tonight, Belizean authorities are investigating the deaths of two U.S. nationals, found just days apart in separate parts of the country. The first case was reported on May twenty-ninth in Placencia, where police discovered the body of sixty-four-year-old Fred Hoffman. Friends had contacted the authorities after not hearing from him, and officers found him unresponsive at his home. There were no visible injuries. Just a few days later, tragedy struck again, this time in San Pedro Town. Fifty-six-year-old Jeffrey Young was found unresponsive by his wife, who immediately alerted police. Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith says both cases are being treated as separate incidents, and post-mortem examinations are pending to determine the exact causes of death.

 

ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer

“Police are currently investigating the deaths of two US nationals in separate circumstances. The first investigation pertains to Fred Mason Hoffman, sixty-four-year-old, where on the twenty-ninth of May at approximately nine fifty-one p.m. police visited a residence on Placencia main road where Hoffman was observed in an unresponsive state. He was subsequently escorted to the Southern Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The body of Hoffman did not exhibit any visible injuries. However, now awaits a postmortem. Police were alerted as they were called to conduct a welfare check on the residence, as persons familiar with him had stated that they had not seen him for a few hours, which is something outside of the norm for him. As it relates to the second debt investigation pertaining to the US National, this one concerns Jeffrey Allen Young, fifty-six-year-old American National who was residing in San Pedro town. This occurred on June first, 2025. The wife of Young reported to police that around three p.m. on that date. She made checks on her husband and found him in an unresponsive state. Young was not known to have any preexisting medical conditions. However, due to observations made by the officers on the scene, the scene was processed by a SOC personnel and the body was subsequently transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where it now awaits a post-mortem examination.”