As the pond's water level dropped, villagers saw a car roof emerging and dived in to find the body of a 51-year-old man inside his cherished vehicle, after relatives had reported him missing in late 2025.
On 4 Apr 2026 GMT+7, Nong Ki rescue teams, together with villagers, used a backhoe to pull an Isuzu single-cab pickup truck with a metal roof frame out of a pond in the middle of Nong Tad Dam village, Moo 3, Yoei Prasat Subdistrict, Nong Ki District, Buriram Province, after villagers spotted the silhouette of a car roof in the pond.
They believed the vehicle belonged to Mr. Boonprakob Chuethong, 51, from Moo 3, Yoei Prasat Subdistrict, Nong Ki District, Buriram, who had been missing since late 2025. Upon retrieving the vehicle, they found Mr. Boonprakob's body lying on its side inside, in a decomposed state with some parts reduced to bones.
Mr. Khun Karaket, 58, the villager who first discovered the vehicle in the pond, said that yesterday evening (3 Apr), he saw a shape resembling a car roof in the water and was suspicious. He informed Mr. Boonprakob's relatives, as the villagers knew he had disappeared from home since late 2025.
Relatives then came to inspect and confirmed it was indeed a car, likely Mr. Boonprakob's because of the metal roof frame. They then called rescue teams to assist with the retrieval today. The pond is about 4 meters deep. After the last rainy season, it was nearly full, but recently the water has rapidly receded due to hot, dry weather, revealing the car roof silhouette. Without the roof frame, the vehicle would still be submerged and invisible at this time.
Ms. Kanyanat Duangnil, 45, said her brother had gone missing since 22 Dec 2025. She later reported him missing at Nong Ki Police Station but did not pursue the case aggressively since he often took jobs requiring overnight stays away.
However, after months of no contact despite repeated calls, they found the body. The family believes he may have been drunk while driving home at night and accidentally drove into the pond unnoticed.