Missing Pattaya woman’s Dutch boyfriend says red-hair skull likely unrelated
Timeline twist raises hope missing Thai woman may still be alive
The skull with red hair, which was found in the central province of Chachoengsao, may not be linked to the missing woman in Pattaya, according to statements from her friend and her Dutch boyfriend.
A 15 year old Thai teenager named Krittapas discovered the skull of an unidentified woman on May 27 while jogging around a pond in the Saen Phu Dat sub-district, Ban Pho district, Chachoengsao. The skull was found in a roadside wooded area, along with two black rubbish bags.
Officers from Saen Phu Dat Police Station investigated the scene and suspected that the skull was originally wrapped in the two bags, which were later torn open by stray dogs, thereby exposing the remains.
The skull featured long red hair, leading police to presume the deceased was female. The head is currently undergoing an autopsy to confirm the person’s identity.
On May 29, officers returned to the scene with divers to search the pond for additional body parts. The operation was initiated following a tip-off from a local fisherman named Prasit.
Prasit told police that he had been fishing on April 17 when he discovered the frames of two loudspeakers, one pink and the other grey, tied together with rope and tightly wrapped in tape.
Upon dismantling the frames, he found a foul-smelling rubbish bag inside, but discarded it into the roadside forest due to the stench. He then sold the speaker frames to a local recycling shop.
After seeing the news about the skull, Prasit recognised a possible link to his experience and reported the details to the police. The recycling shop later handed the speaker frames to investigators.
After two hours of diving and sonar scanning the pond, no further body parts were found. However, police did recover a mysterious length of nylon rope and used tape on the pond’s bank.
CCTV footage from April in the surrounding area was no longer available, but police are attempting to retrieve archived footage to determine who abandoned the speaker frames.
The discovery drew public attention, particularly from the family of the missing woman, 43 year old Metinee, who had been looking for work in Soi Buakhao in Pattaya before losing contact with her family on May 5. As Metinee also had long red hair, her family suspected that the skull might be hers.
However, based on statements from Metinee’s Thai friend and Dutch boyfriend, it now appears unlikely that the remains belong to her, and she may still be alive.
Channel 8 interviewed her boyfriend, Dutch national, Petru Constantin Varga, via video call yesterday, May 29. He firmly denied any involvement in her disappearance and said he had already spoken with police about the matter.
Varga stated that he left Thailand on April 14 but remained in contact with Metinee via Facebook Messenger. She last contacted him on May 26 to borrow money from him, and he promised to send it on May 23. He did not believe that the skull belonged to her.
Metinee’s friend, Waen, who owns a bar in Soi Buakhao, told reporters that Metinee approached her for a job on May 6. Waen asked her to come in at 10am on May 7, but Metinee called on the day to say she could not attend due to a relative’s car accident.
The owner of the accommodation where Metinee and her foreign boyfriend had stayed also told the media that the couple never argued or caused any issues. She did not believe the Dutchman harmed Metinee or played a role in her disappearance.
As Metinee was still in contact with her friend and boyfriend after the suspected time of death linked to the skull and speaker frames, the timeline suggests she is likely unconnected to the remains.
No further developments in Metinee’s disappearance have been reported. For now, the autopsy and DNA results from the skull remain the key to solving this mystery. The media urged Metinee to come forward to ensure her safety to the family if she is still alive.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
