Editor's note: On May 11, police identified the man as Antonio Cecil Jeffers, 34.
April 30, 2004 – Fishermen found the body of a man floating in the Charlotte Amalie harbor Friday morning, police and Coast Guard officials said. It appeared that the man drowned after falling into the water, Sgt. Thomas Hannah, Police Department spokesman said.
Hannah said police do not suspect foul play but the case remains under investigation. No identification was found on the victim's body and he was described by officers as a "street person," Hannah said, although he could not say how they came to that conclusion.
Maria Ferreras, who has worked in downtown Charlotte Amalie across from the harbor for 16 years, said at any given time there are about a dozen homeless people wandering the area. "I'm almost afraid to find out who it is," she said of Friday's victim. "It's so sad. You know them."
Ferreras said she has seen the homeless, often mentally ill individuals, ignored, spat upon, hit with sticks, and even chased into the sea. She said when she has called government agencies seeking assistance for people sleeping in the streets and eating from garbage containers, she often has been told that there are no resources available to deal with the problem.
