A man found dead among the rocks of the Cape Cod Canal jetty in Sandwich likely fell headfirst between the boulders and then struggled to free himself, according to a state police report obtained by the Cape Cod Times. The discovery dates back to early September, when a fisherman's call about an abandoned bicycle and tackle box led officers to the grim scene at the east end of the canal.
The man was found dead deep in the rocks of the jetty on the morning of Sept. 3, according to NBC Boston. A fisherman alerted Sandwich police at about 9 a.m. after spotting a bicycle sitting alone, then noticing a tackle box further down the jetty, the station reported. An officer sent to check the area spotted the man wedged in the rocks and determined he was dead.
Freeing the body from the jetty was no simple task. The station's report notes that the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team and Sandwich Fire Department worked together to extract the man from where he was lodged among the boulders.
What the State Police Report Adds
Months later, a state police report obtained by the Cape Cod Times offers new detail on how the man likely ended up in the rocks. According to that report, the man likely fell headfirst between the rocks and then struggled to free himself before he died. Investigators have not suspected foul play in the case, per the Times report.
At the time of the initial discovery in September, the man had not been publicly identified, per the same account from NBC Boston.
A Jetty Known for Its Hazards
The Cape Cod Canal jetty sits at a popular fishing spot at the eastern mouth of the waterway, where anglers regularly navigate uneven, slippery rock formations to reach the water. The combination of an abandoned bicycle and a left-behind tackle box was what first tipped off the fisherman that something was wrong that Thursday morning in September, prompting the call to police that set the discovery in motion.
