Dead man found at athletic club

Sparta - Edwin Gorda, 51, a transient from Washington Borough in Warren County was found dead, wrapped in a large roll of matting last week behind the Sparta Athletic club. The cause of death was determined by the county medical examiner’s office to be hypothermia, said First Assistant Prosecutor William Fitzgibbons. He said the prosecutor’s office is waiting for the final toxicology report, but no foul play is suspected. “He was just exposed to the weather,” Fitzgibbons said. Sgt. Ron Casteel said the family, apparently a brother, was notified after Gorda was found in the middle of large mats that were placed outside of the club. Andy Ball, general manager, said the club was in the process of cleaning out the facility when the man was found. “We are in the process of cleaning the facility,” he said. “That is how he was discovered. These mats are usually in the back, but they were in the front side.” Ball said the 20 x 6 foot rolls were placed out front, due to a special event that took place at the club that evening. Apparently, Gorda crawled into the central opening for rest. The two-inch-thick mats were nonporous, he said, but Gorda was found with wet feet. “It’s our responsibility to the community to conduct business as usual,” Ball said. “It was not a frightening situation as (much as) it was a sad occurrence. We try to continue the services to members and guest, and I thank everybody for not taking this out of proportion. It was just an unfortunate situation.” Ball said Gorda had been seen near the athletic club some time ago and the police were called, but were not able to find him. Then two weeks ago he was see walking out of the woods. Ball also said a woman at the county help line had been called about Gorda but didn’t know where to find him. “I just learned there are around 300 homeless people in Sussex County,” Ball said. “There are people living in shacks back in the woods, and so many people don’t realize this.” He added, “There are agencies that can help, if we can just get the word out.” The help line number is 973-209-HELP, he said.