American Tourist Drowns after Jet-Ski Incident on West Coast of Ambergris

Rickilee Michelle Mercer

The lifeless body of a female was discovered this evening off the coast of Ambergris Caye. The body has been identified as twenty-nine-year-old Rickilee Michelle Mercer; an accountant of Texas, U.S.A.  The body was transported to the K.H.M.H. where it awaits a post-mortem.  Initial reports suggest that Mercer drowned out at a sea following a jet-ski incident that happened on Tuesday.  Thirty-nine-year-old Marvin Hazim Yono, of Michigan, U.S.A. reported that he and another friend were at an area located west of Ambergris Caye, which is known as “Secret Beach” on separate jet skis.  Yono told police that later that afternoon around two-thirty, he invited Mercer for a ride.  They left on the jet-ski heading west from “Secret Beach,” but they both fell off when the jet-ski.  He reported that he swam to shore and that he last spotted Mercer as she was swimming towards the jet-ski. A search was conducted by San Pedro Police and Belize Coast Guard, but Mercer could not be located in the area; that is until late this afternoon when her body was found. Police investigations continue into this matter.