A Burmese worker harvesting morning glory vegetables discovered Wright's body floating face-down in a public drainage ditch and alerted authorities, according to police reports. The body was barefoot and clothed in a grey shirt and black trousers. Police found no signs of assault on the body, which had begun to bloat from being in the water for an extended period, based on their initial assessment.
An iPhone 17 was recovered on the bank nearby, not submerged in the water, and Wright's hotel key card was found in his pocket, police confirmed. He had checked into the COCO Bang Tao Beach Hotel alone and was due to check out on March 13 but never did, according to hotel records and staff statements. CCTV footage from the hotel shows him appearing restless and moving back and forth in front of the building before departing, as reported by authorities.
Further CCTV footage from March 12, as cited by multiple media sources, captures Wright sprinting down a road on Phuket, glancing over his shoulder, and turning left into darkness. That same night at 11:25pm, he left the hotel, crossed a car park, and entered a wasteland, according to major media accounts. He then took a left turn, avoided a dead-end, and lowered himself down a 10-foot drop into a second field containing a drainage ditch full of stagnant water and bordered by high concrete walls, multiple reports indicate.
Before they come back, let's get them back in the head and have a f****** shootout.
Officers later visited the hotel to gather information and review security camera footage, according to police statements. Police searched his room and said nothing suspicious was found, with officers reporting no signs of forced entry, theft, or other irregularities. Authorities noted he appeared to head in the direction of the canal where his body was later discovered, based on their investigation.
Phuket attracts hundreds of thousands of revellers annually, many for events like Full Moon Parties, as reported by major media. Rumours suggest Wright may have been a victim of the island's drink and drugs culture, according to local sources. According to Daily Mail - Home, an acquaintance of Wright's described Phuket as an island that can break you due to the heat and partying, noting it can catch up with individuals.
Wright's housemate revealed he had been experiencing mental health episodes of paranoia and psychosis while in Phuket, dating back to his time on ITV's The Only Way Is Essex in 2018, according to the housemate. Police are waiting for autopsy results to determine if drugs or intoxicants were present in his system. Authorities suspect he may have been under the influence of alcohol or other substances before his death, as stated by police.
This is an island that can break you. The heat. The partying. It can catch up with you.
Wright's body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy, according to research. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is supporting the family and in contact with local authorities, an FCDO spokesperson confirmed. The exact cause of death remains unknown, pending toxicology results.
In a separate case, British-Australian man Graham Tucker was found dead on his yacht docked off Khao Khad Beach in Phuket on January 11, according to research. Tucker was reported to have lived alone on the yacht for over 10 years and usually travelled between Phuket and Malaysia, based on accounts. His body was also sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy, but the results were not made public, leaving it unclear if there is any connection between the two deaths involving foreign nationals in Phuket.
Disagreement exists over Wright's background, with some describing him as a reality TV star and others as a businessman, affecting public perception of his identity and potential lifestyle factors. According to Daily Mail - Home, Jordan Wright described a scenario involving a shootout in captured CCTV audio, though the context or meaning behind this quote is not yet clear. Key unknowns include the specific cause of Wright's death, whether drugs or alcohol were present in his system, and the autopsy results for Graham Tucker.