Search underway for missing American woman in Phuket
A jet ski rental operator on Patong Beach in Phuket contacted the police yesterday after an American woman went missing, leaving the rented jet ski floating in the sea.
The operator reported the incident to Patong Police Station at approximately 11.25am, yesterday, February 27, stating that the foreign woman, later identified as 38 year old American citizen Nina Ng, disappeared. Ng rented the jet ski at 9.25am.
She was expected to return it by 9.55am but failed to do so, prompting the operator to search for her. Ng’s jet ski was later found floating in the sea about 1 kilometre from Patong Beach but she was nowhere to be seen.
Her life vest and belongings, including her phone, cash, a credit card, and a hotel keycard, were left on the jet ski.
The operator then contacted Ng’s friends to assist in the search but after an hour, they found no sign of her. The operator also sought information from local fishermen and other business operators. A ferry driver revealed that he spotted Ng at around 9.40am.
According to the ferry driver, Ng stopped the jet ski in the middle of the sea, removed her life vest, and swam nearby.
Following the report, police officers requested assistance from lifeguards along Patong Beach, as well as rescuers and volunteer divers, to search for Ng. As of today, February 28, no further developments in the search have been reported.
In a related case last year, a British man went missing after visiting Bangkok. His girlfriend and family lost contact with him after he informed them that he would be returning to his home country early on July 27.
His family did not lose hope and continued searching for him until they eventually found him safe in Helsinki, Finland, in August.
The British man apologised for causing concern to his family and the public, but the reason behind his disappearance was not disclosed.
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