MAE HONG SON — The search for a missing 28-year-old Belgian woman ended tragically. Thai officials found her lifeless body submerged in the sandy bottom of a weir in Mae Yen Waterfall, Pai district, Mae Hong Son Province on Saturday.
Tourist police in Mae Hong Son Province and local officials in Pai district, including soldiers and volunteers, had formed a team to search for Ms. Cloe, a 28-year-old Belgian female tourist, who disappeared from her accommodation with her bicycle since Friday morning.
Her friend reported to the tourist police at 2:40 p.m. on September 6, concerned that Miss Cloe, who has a psychiatric condition, had gone missing from her accommodation and could not be contacted since 2:00 a.m.
On Friday night, the search team only found the bicycle parked at the entrance to Mae Yen Waterfall, which had a notice posted stating that the area was closed due to it being the flood season and at risk of landslides.
They tried to search towards the waterfall amid heavy rain and flash floods, which have made it impossible for vehicles to pass through. At 10:15 p.m., the team had to suspend the search.
They continued the search again on Saturday, September 7, until around noon when they found her clothes placed next to the overflow weir of Mae Yen stream in Village No. 1, Mae Hi Subdistrict, Pai District. Officials then drained all the water from the weir, and at 12:40 p.m., they found her body submerged face-down in the sand. Officials retrieved the body and sent it for an autopsy at Pai Hospital.
The preliminary examination by Pai Police Station investigators and doctors from Pai Hospital found no signs of wounds on the deceased’s body. They believe that the Belgian woman likely came to play in the water at the scene alone before drowning, with no one witnessing the incident or being able to help in time.
Afterward, officials contacted the Belgian Embassy to inform Miss Cloe’s family and expressed their condolences for this loss.
_____
Related story: Authorities in Mae Hong Son Province searched for a 28-year-old Belgian female tourist
