By DayakDaily Team
MIRI, Jan 28: A 41-year-old man who went missing after heading into a forested area near his home in Kampung Sepurau, Bekenu, was found dead today following a multi-agency search and rescue (SAR) operation.
According to Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Batu Niah, the victim was discovered at about 10.40am, approximately 150 metres from his house, by SAR personnel with the assistance of local villagers.
The man, who had asthma and anxiety disorder, reportedly left his home on Sunday night (Jan 25) at around 8.30pm to hunt in the nearby forest and failed to return. Concern grew after repeated attempts by his wife to contact him by phone over the next two days went unanswered.
On Tuesday night (Jan 27), 34 villagers were mobilised and divided into three groups to search the forest area behind the victim’s house. The search, which lasted about two hours, did not yield any results.
A police report was subsequently lodged at Batu Niah district police headquarters, prompting the activation of a full SAR operation involving the Bomba, police, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and local residents.
This morning, 38 villagers resumed the search within a 200-metre radius of the victim’s home. A joint operational briefing between the Bomba and police was held at 9am, before the SAR team commenced a coordinated search at 9.30am.
The victim was later found and pronounced dead at 12.40pm by medical personnel from MOH. Police forensic officers arrived at the scene shortly after to conduct further investigations.
The body was transported to the operation control post before being handed over to police for further action.
The SAR operation was officially called off at 2.30pm by Bekenu OCS Sergeant Mohd Ali after the situation was confirmed to be safe and under control. — DayakDaily
