Catherine Shaw, U.K. Backpacker Missing in Guatemala, Found Dead; Likely an Accident; Funds Being Raised for Her Repatriation

[Jeff Dunsavage]

An English backpacker who went missing last week in Guatemala has been found dead — and authorities said she suffered “blows to the body” and died of hemorrhaging caused by a traumatic brain injury.

Tourist Catherine Shaw, 23, of the southeastern English county of Oxfordshire, was reported missing after she left a hotel in Guatemala’s San Juan La Laguna off Lake Atitlan on March 5, the BBC reported.

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However, foul play was “probably not involved,” according to the Lucie Blackman Trust – a charity for overseas British victims which had been supporting Catherine’s family. The charity called for speculation surrounding Shaw’s death to end, claiming that her death was nothing more than a “tragic accident.”

In a statement on its Facebook page, The Lucie Blackman Trust, said it had launched the appeal to "help with repatriation, funeral costs, the recovery of Catherine's possessions and other associated costs to help her parents bring Catherine home safely."