Man, 56, found dead outside Travelodge hotel

COLUMBIA — Police are investigating the death of a 56-year-old man who was found dead at the Travelodge hotel.

A maintenance worker found the man’s body at about 8:30 a.m. Friday, Columbia police Sgt. Dan Beckman said. The man was thought to be a transient, and police are withholding his name until notification of his family, Beckman said.

The body was found lying on the concrete of the second floor outdoor walkway of building B.

There were no signs of trauma, Beckman said. Officers referred the case to the Major Crimes Unit and the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Hotel part-owner Leela Jashnani said the maintenance worker found the body when he arrived in the morning to the hotel at 900 Vandiver Drive.

“All we saw was a body sprawled out in the hallway,” Jashnani said. “We weren’t going to mettle with that, so as soon as our maintenance man informed us, we called the cops.”

The man appeared to be a homeless person who took shelter there, and investigators found his belongings with his body, Jashnani said.