A horrific murder investigation has been launched in Siparia after the body of 62-year-old Dennis Archargee, a retired local worker who lived alone, was recovered from the pit of an outdoor outhouse adjacent to his home this Friday. The grim find came after a concerned relative alerted local police that Archargee’s property appeared disturbed and the elderly man had not been seen by neighbors for nearly three days.
Details of the case, released through official police reports, outline that the relative arrived at Archargee’s Quarry Road residence around 10 a.m. Friday to check on his welfare, after neighbors confirmed they had not spotted him since Tuesday the previous week. Finding the front door padlocked and getting no response to repeated calls, the relative forced open the lock to enter the property—and immediately noticed clear signs that the home had been ransacked by intruders.
Along with the disarray inside the residence, the relative discovered several high-value items were missing: Archargee’s gas tank, portable generator, brush cutter, and his white Nissan B14 sedan had all been stolen from the property. Police were called to the scene within minutes, and officers launched a search of the surrounding grounds. During that sweep, investigators found Archargee’s body, lying face-down in the deep pit of the outhouse sitting on his property.
The entire area was immediately cordoned off to preserve evidence, with specialist crime scene investigators and forensic personnel processing the location for clues. Archargee’s remains were transported to the Forensic Science Centre in Federation Park, where a post-mortem examination will be carried out to confirm the official cause of death. Ahead of the discovery, the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, a volunteer group led by Vallence Rambharat, had been called in to assist with locating the missing man; the team was en route to the Siparia site when they received word that the body had been found.
Separately, police confirmed that Archargee’s stolen vehicle was found abandoned on Thursday, a day before the body was discovered, at Skinner Trace in Quarry Village.
Archargee’s stepdaughter Jennelle Benard, 37, spoke publicly about the loss, recalling that the last time she saw her stepfather was on the previous Sunday, when he stopped by her home to drop off a pack of cigarettes for her mother, Chanroutie Sookram-Lemo. Sookram-Lemo and Archargee had been in a relationship for more than 30 years, but after Sookram-Lemo suffered a stroke last year, she moved in to live with Benard, leaving Archargee to live alone at their Quarry Road property.
Benard described Archargee as a loving, dependable father figure who worked as a truck driver, mechanic, and welder over his career, and was always willing to help his family with any need. Two days before the body was found, Benard and Archargee’s brother Rudy had traveled to the property to search for him after growing concerned by his absence. During that search, Benard pulled open the door of the outhouse but did not check the deep pit, assuming he would not be hidden there.
It was only when relatives returned to the home alongside police on Friday that officers made the fatal discovery. “One of the officers went into the outhouse and he looked inside, that was it. Why would they do such a thing? I looked in right there and I didn’t see him. This world we live in, the people don’t have a heart for anybody else,” a tearful Benard said in the aftermath of the discovery.
“Dennis was a good man he would try to support us and assist wherever he could. Anywhere I wanted to go, he would take us. Anything we wanted he would bring it. He was always there for us,” she added. “This is very, very heartbreaking, but I am leaving this in the hands of the Lord.”
As of Friday evening, police had not announced any arrests in connection with Archargee’s death and the robbery of his property, and investigations remain ongoing.