Police identify body found near hotel in Benton Harbor

Dispatch confirms a body was found near the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Benton Harbor.

Benton Township police say they got the call around 8:16 a.m. Sunday morning.

Police were dispatched to the 2200 block of Pipestone Road in reference to a male who had been seen by hotel staff lying behind the building.

Officers identified the male as 43-year-old Neiko Bernardo of Oregon and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say Bernardo was staying in one of the rooms at the hotel because he was in town working for NBC Sports at the Senior PGA Tournament.

Investigators found suspected controlled substances in Bernardo’s hotel room but the cause of death is unknown at this time.

An autopsy has been scheduled but no other details have been released at this time.