Beagle sniffs out corpse in northeast Thailand

A Thai man took his dog out for a walk in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand yesterday. He couldn’t believe it when the sharp-nosed beagle led him to a human corpse.

At 3:30pm yesterday, officers at Soeng Sang Police Station received a report that a body had been found on the side of the road in Soeng Sang district.

Police, doctors from Soeng Sang Hospital, and rescue workers went to the scene where they found the body of a man lying in dense overgrown grass on the roadside near Khok Jok village.

No identification was found on the deceased’s person. However, locals at the scene said he was known as Nai Noi and lived in a small house nearby.

Police found no signs of foul play, wounds, or struggle. Doctors estimated that Nai Noi died around 10 hours prior to being discovered.

Taheng Sankong, the 66 year old man who discovered the body, told police that it was Joana, his 2 year old dog, who led him to the body.

He said he takes Joana out for an evening walk every day. Yesterday, the beagle insisted on going off the road and into the grass.

Taheng descended the steep ridge off the road and said he smelt something rotten. At first, he assumed it would be a dead dog.

When Joana led Taheng to a human body, he immediately called the police to come and investigate.

Locals said that the deceased was a heavy drinker. They suspect he got drunk and fell asleep in the grass in the cold weather.

Nai Noi’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed. His body has been taken for an autopsy at Soeng Sang Hospital.

Police said they have called some local people in for questioning and are tracking down relatives of the deceased to investigate further.