The decomposed body of an expatriate from the United States was removed from a luxury condominium tower located in an upscale subdivision of Escazu, a municipality located in the western suburbs of the capital city of Costa Rica.

According to a report filed by Pablo Rojas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, Red Cross volunteers assigned to Escazu confirmed that they found the body on Tuesday afternoon. The volunteers responded to a call made by the property manager of an upscale condominium that overlooks the Paco shopping center.

Not much is known about the decedent at this time. Property management staff told first responders that they believe the deceased was a man from the United States who seemed to have resided in Costa Rica for a few years, and who had not exited his condominium unit in quite a few days.

Forensic specialists from the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) arrived along with medical examiner staff to evaluate the scene. No preliminary reports were issued to the press as of Tuesday night.

As reported by The Costa Rica Star in 2013, modern planned communities and luxury condominiums offer their mostly expatriate tenants lots of secrecy and privacy, a situation almost reminiscent of the paranoia-filled British mini-series Cape Wrath or J.G. Ballard’s novel Cocaine Nights.

Such an ultra-confidential lifestyle can sometimes lead to deaths going unnoticed until decomposition becomes olfactive and is detected by security or managerial staff.