The man whose body was found Thursday morning in a city refuse truck has been identified as 61-year-old Roy Vigil of Vado, N.M.
Vigil’s body was found at around 10:30 a.m. in the hopper of a city garbage truck that was collecting trash from a commercial bin behind the Lowe’s supermarket, at 1404 Missouri Ave. Vigil had a visible injury to his head and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Preliminary information from the investigation leads detectives to believe Vigil drove to the supermarket and parked in a side lot near the large trash bins located behind the store. Detectives believe Vigil may have been rummaging through a trash bin when the truck arrived to collect the garbage.
Detectives learned that a video monitor allowed the operator of the truck to see Vigil’s body as it fell into the hopper where solid waste is held during transport. The operator of the truck contacted his supervisor, as per his department’s policy, after he learned someone may have been in the commercial bin when trash was dumped into the hopper. His supervisor reported the incident to police.
Detectives are continuing their investigation but, at this time, no foul play is suspected.
Information from Las Cruces Police