Tragic discovery haunts woman

The discovery of a lifeless body on a park bench two weeks ago continues to haunt a Red Deer woman.

Jolene Graham and her boyfriend Taff Salconi found the body of Wayne Keating, 40, of Red Deer, inside Rotary Park’s cooking hut on April 6.

The young couple and three friends headed to the park for a wiener roast that night. It was chilly when they arrived at about 8 p.m.

They planned to cook hot dogs inside the hut, but then they saw someone lying on the bench.

“We seen him there and went the other way,” said Graham, 23, on Monday.

Graham said Keating had been lying on his side for some time, but she and her friends didn’t think anything of it at the time.

“It looked like he was sleeping,” Graham said.

The group began roasting hot dogs on the far east end of the park, and they wondered if the stranger wanted something to eat.

Graham and Salconi approached the dark shadow inside the hut. It was about 10:30 p.m.

“Taff kept calling him, ‘Hey buddy, hey buddy, wake up,’ ” Graham said.

They saw Keating was wearing jeans, hiking boots and a big, heavy coat.

“He had an empty bottle of mouthwash beside him,” Graham said. “It was laying on the ground in front of him.”

They shook him a little but he didn’t respond.

Graham ran back to the rest of the group and together, they returned to Salconi and the man on the bench.

Salconi called 911 to say a body had been found.

“A bunch of cop cars and an ambulance showed up,” Graham said.

Discovering the body was a shock to the group, Graham said.

“I am sorry he died,” said Graham. “We were just glad we found him and not the kids in the morning.”

The cooking hut is near a popular playground. Graham wishes more could have been done to save Keating from his tragic fate.

“I think they need to build bigger (homeless) shelters,” she added.

Police say the cause of death doesn’t appear to be suspicious.

An autopsy didn’t show any clear cause of death. Toxicology results aren’t expected for several months.

Family members held a memorial for Keating in Red Deer a few days after he was found.

Less than 24 hours after Keating’s body was found, another body was discovered in a wooded area between the West Park subdivision and the trail system.

Police reported that the 47-year-old man was found in a sleeping bag. It’s believed he had made a makeshift camp there.

RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Kathe DeHeer said the man’s death isn’t suspicious and no new information is expected.

DeHeer said the man was from Red Deer but no other information on his identity will be released.

The City of Red Deer is working with various partners on a plan to end homelessness by 2018. The strategy aims to have more than 200 affordable accommodations built each year over the next decade.

Contact Laura Tester at ltester@reddeeradvocate.com