Police: Body found near Danao City river still unidentified

CEBU CITY, Philippines — More than a week has passed but policemen in Danao City are yet to identify the body which they found dumped near a river in Sitio Cogon in Barangay Maslog.

Police Corporal Reymund Ermita said they will be forced to already facilitate the disposal of the body that is now kept in a funeral parlor in Carmen town if this will remain unclaimed by the end of the month.

READ: Danao cops to public: Help us identify dead teener

Until then, Ermita said they will continue with their investigation to identify the teenager and determine what actually happened to him.

Except for some cuts and bruises, Ermita said that the body did not have any open wounds that would give them a clue on the cause of his death.

Quoting the outcome of their initial investigation, Ermita said he suspects that the still unidentified teenager was a salvage victim whose body was dumped near the river in Sitio Cogon on August 28.

“Murag gilabay ragyud diha wala man nakaila unya kana nga area toyuonon kaayo,” said Ermita.

(The body may have been dumped in the area because nobody in the neighborhood knew the victim and the area where he was found was isolated.)

As part of their ongoing investigation, Ermita said they are also looking for closed circuit television (CCTV) recordings to determine who brought the body to the area.

Ermita said that residents had informed them of the presence of a white van that was parked along the road in Sitio Cogon, midnight of August 28.  The body was found dumped near the river at about 4 p.m. of the same day.

However, no one from among the residents saw the van’s plate number or its passengers.

Ermita is asking Cebu province residents with missing kins to coordinate with Danao City police or visit the funeral parlor in Carmen town to take a look at the body. / dcb