Police confirm body washed ashore of missing girl in Antalya

ANTALYA

The police have confirmed that one of the nine bodies washed up on the southern coasts of the country is that of an 18-year-old girl who went missing for approximately two weeks.

Merve Şevval Elmas, a first-year gastronomy student at Akdeniz University, had been reported missing by her family since Jan. 4.

The police investigation revealed that Elmas, who resided in a student dormitory in the city, had taken a bus to the point where the Düden Waterfall meets the sea.

After the discovery of a body in the Serik district of Antalya on Jan. 20 raised the possibility that it could be Elmas, her father arrived from Istanbul to provide a DNA sample.

The police announced late on Jan. 22 that the father's DNA matched the body, confirming that it belonged to the young girl. The father received Elmas's body for burial in Istanbul.

In the meantime, statements from both Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin increased the possibility that eight of the nine bodies found in the past six days are likely to be migrants on a boat that sank last month.

"Although the final results from the Forensic Medicine Institute have not arrived, it has been determined that the shoes and clothing found on seven of the bodies were manufactured in Syria, indicating a significant tragedy. We have also received information that some bodies have washed ashore in other provinces and countries," Şahin told daily Hürriyet.

The daily’s report highlighted that officials from the interior and foreign ministries are conducting a comprehensive joint effort. After receiving the final results from the Forensic Medicine Institute, information sharing will take place with Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus.

An earlier statement from the governor’s office referenced an incident reported by the Lebanese Embassy in the capital Ankara on Dec. 11, 2023, about a vessel carrying around 90 migrants from the coastal area between Lebanon and Syria, destined for Cyprus. Hours after departure, the vessel lost contact and subsequently went missing, according to the governor’s office.