Country singer Tyler Rich recounts the discovery of a corpse during the New Year’s Eve race

Country singer Tyler Rich ended 2020 with a harrowing experience that he won’t soon forget, but believes it was to happen.

After finding a corpse during a run earlier in the day on New Year’s Eve, the “The Difference” singer informed his fan that he spoke to the young man’s mother, sharing an unexpected connection over time.

“It’s not how I planned to close 2020,” Rich posted initially on Saturday. “My heart breaks for this poor young man.”

He added that it would be an image and a moment that he would never forget.

Originally thinking he was seeing a homeless person sleeping, Rich admits that at first he simply ran by. “After running around him, I felt bad for him, he was sleeping on his stomach and looked like he was in a bad place,” recalls Rich. “So I turned and went back to see how he was doing.”

It was at that moment that Rich realized that the man was not breathing, but he seemed to have been the victim of a gunshot or forceful force. After tracking a couple with a phone, Rich got help for the victim.

“This young man looked to be between 18 and 25,” suspected Rich. “His skin was still white, it didn’t look like it happened long before I got there.”

After the authorities found a gun in the man’s possession, they began to theorize that it could be suicide, which Rich found unexpectedly comforting.

“Certainly, knowing that he was not discarded by someone else, and that he was where he wanted to be, at least will make me a little more comfortable,” he wrote.

Confirming that a body was found at Chicopee Memorial Start Park on New Year’s Eve, the local Hampden district attorney’s office said Western Mass News, “There is no threat to public security related to this incident that does not appear to be criminal in nature.”

At the time of the discovery, Rich wondered about the young man’s family wondering where he would be, but since then he has connected with that family himself. In a subsequent post, Rich shared that he had spoken to the man’s mother sharing an unexpected and deeply meaningful series of numbers for him.

He noted his average pace the moment he stopped, which was 11:11 am, taking it as a good omen. After speaking with the man’s mother, he found that the last message she received from her son was sent at 11:11 am, with Rich meeting him just 45 minutes later.

He shared that he came to believe that he was in that “random part of the park at the exact time [he] it was to be, to find that young man. “

“I really believe that his spirit took me down that random side of the mountain to find him,” said Rich. “They say that when you see 11:11, that the angels are with you, and to wish for what you want. To feel at ease. This is the universe at your side.”

Perhaps even more moving for Rich’s fans, he has a song titled “11:11” that deals specifically with losses.

“So whenever I see those numbers, it resonates with me,” he wrote. “This specific series of small events is somehow bringing comfort to your family and me.”

In his follow-up post, Rich reached out to his own fans and followers, offering his ear and support to anyone struggling with thoughts of self-harm. “Community is so important, remember to tell people how much you love them and remember to talk to someone, anyone, when you are feeling lost and alone, because you are not,” he wrote.