THE RIDDLE of the bodies in the forest remains unanswered so far - but there are developments in the double-murder investigation.
A man believed to be a Westerner and a Thai woman were found in Khao Sok National Park last week, probably victims of execution-style killings.
Cases of this kind are rare in Phuket's peaceful neighboring province of Phang Nga, which has a well-deserved reputation for tranquil tourism, great diving and some beautiful national parks.
Police Colonel Adisorn Satapornkittakul, chief of the police station at Kapong, not far from the park, has no hesitation in saying that the local community has been shocked by the killings.
He has the job of bringing those responsible to justice, and some interesting facts are already beginning to emerge.
Colonel Adisorn believes the bodies were carried from some other place, possibly Phuket or Samui or Surat Thani, and dumped in the national park.
The killers carefully removed most identification, and they probably presumed that the spot where the bodies were dumped was remote enough for them never to be found.
No attempt was made to bury the bodies or even cover them. Their final resting place was at the foot of a steep incline.
However, the killers had not counted on one factor: locals noticed the smell and investigated, and discovered the two victims after dark on Thursday, August 13.
The colonel and other police went to the scene and began work immediately, looking for clues over the next two hours, and then had the bodies taken to a local hospital.
''We have alerted all the local resorts, asking if they have guests missing,'' the colonel told Phuketwan. ''But we suspect the bodies were dumped at the foot of the steep incline by someone who brought them from the place where they were killed.''
Inquiries have since established that the two were killed with different weapons. The man appears to have died from a single rifle shot to the heart.
The woman was killed by three .38 gunshots to the head. From the trajectory of the bullets, police have concluded that she was probably on her knees, perhaps begging for her life, when the end came.
The pair could have been killed in different places, at different times.
Identity is the difficult part. Ten days in the forest glade have made visual identification impossible. It has also not been possible to take fingerprints.
However the clothing and jewelry of the pair is distinctive. The man, thickset, has a large tattoo and wore a triangular black-green pendant.
The woman's clothing bore distinctive lettering that will probably strike a chord with someone eventually.
Colonel Adisorn said: ''Thais are usually prompt to report an instance when someone disappears unexpectedly.
''We are letting all police stations know about this case, so we expect to hear eventually that a woman who fits this description is missing.''
Phuketwan's initial report prompted concern about a German man, but a friend managed to track him down through the embassy and found that he was safe and well.
The same applied to a woman from Chalong, who was fortunately very much alive.
Sitting in his office, the colonel, surrounded by a virtually crime-free rural community, believes a solution to the case is just a matter of time.
He says this with quiet certainty. This is not the first body in the park.
Earlier this year, a murdered man was dumped in Khao Sok, and the colonel and his team managed to track down that killer.
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A man believed to be a Westerner and a Thai woman were found in Khao Sok National Park last week, probably victims of execution-style killings.
Cases of this kind are rare in Phuket's peaceful neighboring province of Phang Nga, which has a well-deserved reputation for tranquil tourism, great diving and some beautiful national parks.
Police Colonel Adisorn Satapornkittakul, chief of the police station at Kapong, not far from the park, has no hesitation in saying that the local community has been shocked by the killings.
He has the job of bringing those responsible to justice, and some interesting facts are already beginning to emerge.
Colonel Adisorn believes the bodies were carried from some other place, possibly Phuket or Samui or Surat Thani, and dumped in the national park.
The killers carefully removed most identification, and they probably presumed that the spot where the bodies were dumped was remote enough for them never to be found.
No attempt was made to bury the bodies or even cover them. Their final resting place was at the foot of a steep incline.
However, the killers had not counted on one factor: locals noticed the smell and investigated, and discovered the two victims after dark on Thursday, August 13.
The colonel and other police went to the scene and began work immediately, looking for clues over the next two hours, and then had the bodies taken to a local hospital.
''We have alerted all the local resorts, asking if they have guests missing,'' the colonel told Phuketwan. ''But we suspect the bodies were dumped at the foot of the steep incline by someone who brought them from the place where they were killed.''
Inquiries have since established that the two were killed with different weapons. The man appears to have died from a single rifle shot to the heart.
The woman was killed by three .38 gunshots to the head. From the trajectory of the bullets, police have concluded that she was probably on her knees, perhaps begging for her life, when the end came.
The pair could have been killed in different places, at different times.
Identity is the difficult part. Ten days in the forest glade have made visual identification impossible. It has also not been possible to take fingerprints.
However the clothing and jewelry of the pair is distinctive. The man, thickset, has a large tattoo and wore a triangular black-green pendant.
The woman's clothing bore distinctive lettering that will probably strike a chord with someone eventually.
Colonel Adisorn said: ''Thais are usually prompt to report an instance when someone disappears unexpectedly.
''We are letting all police stations know about this case, so we expect to hear eventually that a woman who fits this description is missing.''
Phuketwan's initial report prompted concern about a German man, but a friend managed to track him down through the embassy and found that he was safe and well.
The same applied to a woman from Chalong, who was fortunately very much alive.
Sitting in his office, the colonel, surrounded by a virtually crime-free rural community, believes a solution to the case is just a matter of time.
He says this with quiet certainty. This is not the first body in the park.
Earlier this year, a murdered man was dumped in Khao Sok, and the colonel and his team managed to track down that killer.
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