As water levels receded, a car surfaced in the irrigation canal beside Tha Muang Hospital in Kanchanaburi. Relatives hurried to the scene, confirming it was the former auto shop owner who had been reported missing two years earlier. Officials are urgently investigating the cause of death and circumstances.
At 09:30 on 12 Dec 2023 GMT+7, Police Lieutenant Sontaya Wangcharoen, deputy investigating officer at Tha Muang Police Station, received a report of a sedan submerged in the irrigation canal beside Somdet Phra Sangharaja Ong 19 Hospital in Tha Muang District, Kanchanaburi. He informed Police Colonel Pitak Wongpanit, chief of Tha Muang Police, along with deputies Police Lieutenant Krit Wongsrimuang and Police Lieutenant Wisarut Onmee, and detectives Police Captain Niran Puapansri. The investigation team, together with the hospital’s duty doctor and Khun Rattanawut Foundation, inspected the scene. They initially found skeletons inside the sedan and contacted forensic officers to collect evidence from the car.
The site is a large irrigation canal fed by water from the Mae Klong Dam, where water flow was blocked due to construction, causing water levels to drop nearly dry. This revealed the sedan submerged at about 10 meters deep in the canal.
Inspection showed the car was a bronze Toyota Vios registered in Chachoengsao province. The windshield was broken, and algae covered the entire vehicle. Inside, several skeletons were found, too deteriorated to identify details, indicating death occurred long ago. Authorities arranged for a crane to pull the car from the water.
Later, a woman and her son arrived at the scene and confirmed the car belonged to her husband, who had been missing for over two years. He was identified as Mr. Patthanasak Kanchanachokchai, 61, from Phra Thaen Subdistrict, Tha Maka District, Kanchanaburi.
Police will send the recovered remains to the Forensic Institute at the Police General Hospital for detailed identification and determination of cause of death before proceeding with legal protocols.
At 12:30, Police Major General Pasawi Ruangphu, commander of Kanchanaburi Provincial Police, visited the site to check the case progress and inspect where the car was found. He also spoke with Mr. Wanpiya Kul-ung, 49, owner of the auto repair shop where the deceased had worked and had been paid wages.
Mr. Wanpiya said the deceased was his uncle who helped at the auto shop for about a year before disappearing. Before vanishing, he messaged to request an 8,000 baht wage advance, which he transferred around 5 p.m. That night at 9 p.m., the deceased’s partner called asking if he had been seen since he hadn’t returned home. After that, he was never seen again. Mr. Wanpiya said they were relieved to find him now and hoped to bring him home.
Relatives said the deceased had previously operated an auto repair shop but had to close it due to the COVID-19 situation. He then rented a house in Phra Thaen Subdistrict. On 13 Aug 2023 GMT+7, the day he disappeared, he said he was going to take his car for repairs, leaving home in the morning. Contact was lost afterward, and the family reported him missing on 14 Aug 2023 GMT+7. They searched continuously but found no trace until now.
Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.