Thai father’s plea to find missing daughter and 262,000 baht

A father is pleading for help to find his 15 year old daughter, who has been missing for over two weeks, along with nearly 300,000 baht. He suspects someone has influenced her. The money from selling inherited land was intended for buying property.

Narongchai, a 51 year old rider from Prasat, Ban Dan, Buriram, shared his ordeal, seeking media assistance to find his daughter, a vocational student, who vanished on October 4. The family has been anxiously waiting for more than two weeks without any news.

Narongchai explained that in April, he received 262,000 baht (US$7,910) from selling his late mother’s land, a sum shared equally among his siblings. He and his wife decided not to deposit the money in their accounts, fearing they might spend it before buying a 320,000 baht (US$9,660) plot of land to build a house.

Instead, they put the money in their daughter’s account, believing she wouldn’t touch it as she was a well-behaved girl who rarely left home or socialised.

However, things took a concerning turn when Na, an online seller around 35 years old, befriended their daughter. Na frequently took the girl out for dinner, initially once or twice a week, which Narongchai didn’t mind, thinking it was just an adult showing affection. But the outings became more frequent, causing Narongchai to warn his daughter about focusing on her studies.

In August, Narongchai mentioned to his daughter that he planned to use the money to buy the land soon. His daughter responded by saying she was busy.

Missing daughter

In the following month, she claimed her bank account was locked, preventing any transactions. Narongchai sought advice and was told to visit the bank. However, his daughter kept making excuses to avoid the visit.

On October 4, when Narongchai told her they would go to the bank together the next day, she immediately rode her motorcycle away and has been unreachable since.

On October 7, Narongchai reported the matter to Police Lieutenant Colonel Settaphong Meeklom at the Mueang Police Station, seeking help to track down his missing daughter and the money in her account.

Attempts to call her have failed; communication has been limited to LINE application chats, where she mentioned she was looking for work, but she avoided calls to prevent revealing her location, reported KhaoSod.

Narongchai strongly believes someone has influenced his daughter to either take the money or leave home. He urges police to find his daughter and investigate the money’s transfer history, suspecting those who took her out might be involved in wrongdoing.