Police ID Man Found Dead In Riverhead Woods

RIVERHEAD, NY — Police have identified a homeless man found dead last week in a tent in Riverhead as Oscar Patzan-Xiquin, 51.

On Thursday, the Riverhead Police Department reported that an"unconscious and unresponsive" man had been found in a tent encampment in the wooded area located south of Riverhead Building Supply on Pulaski Street and south of the nearby Long Island Rail Road tracks.

When police and the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps arrived, it was determined that the man had died of an unknown cause, police said. Other people who live in the encampment told police that the deceased man was known only as "Oscar"; they didn't know his last name or date of birth, police said.

The Riverhead Police Department's detective division requested the public's help in identifying the man and, during the course of the investigation, along with assistance from members of the community, he was identified. Patzan-Xiquin was originally from Guatemala and had been homeless in Riverhead, police said. He was found wearing multiple layers of clothing and jackets, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and Patzan-Xiquin's offical cause of death is pending results of an autopsy being conducted by the Suffolk County Medical Examiners Office; preliminary results indicate that his death was not the result of foul play, police said.

Anyone with information regarding his death is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500. All calls will be kept confidential.