Turks and Caicos police confirm identify of missing New Yorker found dead near hotel

Thursday, July 17, 2025
Police in Turks and Caicos have confirmed the identity of the body of the missing man found in the Grace Bay area as Brian Patrick Tarrence of Manhattan.

Authorities said an autopsy revealed no signs of trauma and do not suspect any foul play in the death of Tarrence.

He vanished on June 25th while on vacation with his wife, and a missing person report was filed.

The 52-year-old's decomposing body was found in a roughly 5-foot-deep ditch on the side of the road near his hotel on July 5th.

Investigators are working to figure out how he died.



Tarrence and his wife Maria had planned on spending seven days in paradise. The couple left their home in Manhattan for what was supposed to be a relaxing, one-year anniversary celebration.

But when Maria woke up one morning and couldn't find her husband, she knew something was wrong.

One of the last images of Tarrence was taken from security cameras outside the villa where he was staying at the Paradise Inn. It was taken around 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday, June 25, and he is alone.



The family of Brian Tarrence hired a private investigator to help with the initial search when he went missing.



Private investigator Carl DeFazio, who was formerly with the NYPD, worked closely with the Turks and Caicos Police Force.

DeFazio says the day before Tarrence disappeared, the couple went on a boat trip, and his wife said her husband seemed off.

"The day that he did disappear, he was having some, I would say mental issues, he was not under doctors' care, he was not under any kind of medication that I'm aware of that was shared with me, but he was acting incoherent, he wasn't acting the same as he was and the wife was quite concerned with that," DeFazio said.


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