PHUKET - A British tourist seen walking drunk along Patong beach and then entering the water against all advice on Friday morning has been found drowned
Police said local residents saw the man on the beach around 8am. He appeared to be drunk. They talked to him and recommended that he go back to his hotel.
Later, he was seen to walk into the sea, and disappeared. Lifeguards searched unsuccessfully for him, and then called police for help.
Patong police received the call around 10am. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation searched the beach and water out to a depth of one to 1.5 metres, 10-15 metres from the shore. It took them about 20 minutes to find his body, which was sent to Patong Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Townsend arrived in Thailand on April 15 and was due to depart on Saturday. He had stayed at a hotel in Patong beach. His passport, credit card and some clothes were found in his room, Pol Capt Yingyong Chuaykit, a case investigator at Patong police station, said.