Country singer Tyler Rich’s decision to take an afternoon run on New Year’s Eve quickly led to heartbreak when he discovered the lifeless body of a man in the woods.
Rich was running in Chicopee State Park near his Massachusetts home when he made the grim discovery that was a disturbing ending to a challenging year. He shared his emotional roller coaster on social media.
A Moment He Will Never Forget
“Not the way I planned on closing out 2020… I guess my last day of the year made sense. My heart breaks for this poor young man ?,” Rich shared on his Instagram account. “This will be an image and moment of my life, I’ll never forget.”
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“But, I need to shoutout first responders and our military that look death in the eye every day, and are able to continue to live their everyday lives,” he continued in the post below.
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The singer initially thought he stumbled on a homeless man sleeping in the woods. He later returned to check in on the young man. Upon closer inspection, Rich realized the man wasn’t sleeping. He was dead.
“I realize he isn’t breathing, and as I get around to the front of him, all I see is a lifeless face covered in blood. Everywhere. Looked like maybe shot, or blunt force,” Rich shared. “At this moment I freak out and sprint up the hill to try and find anyone with a phone to call the police (I only had my Apple Watch at the time).”
Police Find A Gun
A couple nearby called authorities. Police discovered a gun in the dead man’s hands, which could imply that this was a suicide rather than a murder. The entire discovery hit Rich hard an will take a while to process.
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“I’m doing what I can to process this, the image, the reality. It’s been a rough 24 hours. Something, I’ll never unsee,” he wrote. “Or forget the couple minutes when it was just him and I down at the water as I figured out what the hell was going on and what I was going to do. Dead silent middle of a state park. Just running water, and him and I…he looked like a young, normal kid. Someone with a family probably wondering where he was.”
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The Meaning Of 11:11
This shocking discovery really jolted Rich. He was consumed with thoughts about the man who he found. He spoke to the man’s mom.
Rich learned that the last text the man sent was at 11:11, just 45 minutes before he was found. That was also Rich’s pace on his run.
Scroll to the right on this Instagram post to see more of his message.
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The singer shared in the third page of his Instagram post above that whenever you see 11:11, angels are with you. In fact, Rich had previously written a song “11:11” addressing this. Now, he’s taking this as a sign.
Tyler Rich believes the man’s spirit led him to the spot. The timeline of events and how everything transpired has given both the singer and the man’s family comfort during this gut-wrenching time.
Rich told his followers that if they are encountering dark and depressing thoughts, they can reach out to him. He will respond even if it’s not right away. He also encouraged those in need to contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Watch Tyler Rich’s video for his song “11:11” here:
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