Country Singer Tyler Rich Finds Dead Body During New Year’s Eve Run

jenniferlinnea/Tyler Rich/Instagram

Country singer Tyler Rich was closing out his 2020 with a run through Chicopee State Park in Massachusetts when he made a heartbreaking discovery.

Rich posted details of the ordeal to social media sharing that while on a run he came across the body of a deceased man. The singer was about 2.5 miles into a 4 mile run when he decided to cut through a heavily wooded area in an attempt to find a shortcut back to the running path.

“I then saw what I thought was a young homeless man sleeping. He was on his stomach and had a bag tied around his foot and was faced down,” Rich recalled in a statement. “After running around him, I felt bad for him, he was sleeping facedown and just looked like he was in a bad place. So, I turned around and went back to check on him.”

After seeing blood and realizing that the man wasn’t breathing, Rich ran to find someone with a phone so that he could call for help. Authorities arrived and discovered a gun in one of the man’s hands, indicating that the cause of death was possibly suicide.

Tyler Rich got candid about how the events of the day affected him, saying, “It’s been a rough 24 hours. Something I’ll never unsee or forget the couple minutes when it was just him and I down at the water…He looked like a young, normal kid. Someone with a family probably wondering where he was. Whoever you are and were, RIP friend.”

 

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The following day, Rich shared that he had spoken with the deceased man’s family, calling it one of the “toughest things I can remember.”

“We talked about the timeline and series of events. She told me the last text he sent was at 11:11. And I found him just 45 minutes later.”

Rich added that he believes the man’s spirit led him down the side of the mountain to find him.

“They say when you see 11:11 that angels are with you and to wish for whatever you want,” Rich wrote and referenced his song “11:11” about loss. “Anytime I see those numbers, it resonates with me. This specific series of little events is somehow bringing comfort to his family and to myself.”

 

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Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.