UPDATE: Missing family from central Thailand flew to Istanbul, Turkey

THE LATEST

After checking their database, Thai police have discovered that the family from central Thailand who went missing on April 10 flew to Istanbul, Turkey on that day. The family, who lived in Sukhothai, flew from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. It is unclear whether they are still in Istanbul, or have moved to another spot. Police also found the couple’s pickup truck at a used car dealership in Udon Thani.

Police suspect the family could have fled because they were about 10 million baht in debt. But a commander of Sukhothai Provincial Police says no creditor has come forward to press any charges against them. A general of Police Region 6 said the information provided by the immigration office showed the family flew to Turkey, and have not yet returned to Thailand.

This is an ongoing story, and police are continuing to investigate.

EARLIER UPDATE

Following the report on the missing family in the central province of Sukhothai, Thai media has updated the story that the daughter has been able to contact her family today and everyone was safe. However, she didn’t share more details about where her family was or why they had been impossible to contact. Police speculate that it may have been related to financial problems or debt.

Yesterday, Thai media reported that the 19 year old daughter searched for her family who had disappeared in Sukhothai province 11 days ago. The 41 year old mother and father, 12 year old son, 7 year old daughter, and the 19 year old daughter travelled to Chiang Mai by pickup to send the oldest daughter to the university. The father told his oldest daughter that the family would head back home, but they all disappeared and have been ‘lost’ since then.

From the last update on Thai media, police have found the family pickup put on sale at a used car showroom in the Isan province of Udon Thani. The showroom owner insisted that he bought the car legally at 420,000 baht on April 9 and had all of the required documents. He told police that the car was resold several times, and he was the 4th person to own the pickup. Police then continued tracking the others who were involved in purchasing the vehicle.

The police finally met a man who bought the car directly from the family. The man said that he bought the car from the family on April 7 at 385,000 baht in Phitsanulok province, sold it to another person in Nakhon Sawan province on April 8, and that person sold it to the used car showroom in Udon Thani on April 9. He said he picked the car up at a petrol station. He told police that the family informed him that they had sold the pickup because of the “bad economic situation”.

From the latest update this afternoon, Thai media report that the 19 year old daughter has been able to contact her family, but she didn’t release more details.

SOURCE: Channel 3 | Khaosod | Bangkokbiznews | Bangkok Post