Sunday, June 28, 2015

Remains Of A Body Found In Baguio City Believed To Be That Of A Missing SLU Student

Around 6:45 a.m. last Saturday (June 27), a man collecting mushrooms along a section of the Balacbac Road in Santo Tomas Proper, Baguio City came across the remains of a body that was in an advanced state of decomposition. The body seemed to have been dumped from the road above into a ravine that's around 40 to 50 meters deep.

The man reported what he saw to the barangay captain of Sto. Tomas who in turn called the attention of the Baguio City Police Office. Identification of the remains was difficult as it was in an advanced state of decomposition. However, an identification card (a school I.D.) was recovered from a pocket of the pants the body was wearing.

The card bears the name of Raynan Marco Balantin Gumihid, a 17-year-old student in Saint Louis University taking up Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Gumihid was reported by his family as missing since June 1, 2015. In a post on Facebook dated June 9, Gumihid's father asked for help in finding his son who he said left home on June 1 but never returned. He was reportedly last seen in Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet.

DNA testing has to be done to confirm if the remains are indeed those of Gumihid. Investigation by the Baguio City police is ongoing.
Image credit: Lyn Friedman via Flickr.