Search continues for missing retired economist
BALIKESİR
The ongoing search for renowned economist Prof. Dr. Korhan Berzeg, who vanished 12 days ago while walking his dog in the Gönen district of the northwestern province of Balıkesir, has not yet yielded any positive results.
Berzeg, 83, who is a retired economics expert at the World Bank in the U.S., was visiting his hometown Balıkesir with his wife Angela Berzeg, a British national, in May.
On June 17, while his wife was preparing breakfast, Berzeg left the house to go for a walk with his dog and did not return. When Berzeg, who left his mobile phone at home, did not return, his wife filed a missing person’s report to the gendarmerie.
Upon the notification, search and rescue teams and gendarmerie teams were dispatched to the region. The teams continued the search with the support of drones, yet they could not find any trace of Berzeg or his Doberman Tina, which was known to have protection training.
“I think someone killed the dog, as the teams cannot find it. Because she was a special dog, a Doberman,” Angela Berzeg said.
Kadir Akbulut, President of Gönen Natural Disasters Search and Rescue Association (GÖNDAK), said that the teams searched for Tina, who does not take Turkish commands, by calling and whistling in English.
“His family says that Tina was a loyal dog that never leaves his side, and she would have definitely come back home to inform the family if something happened to Mr. Berzeg.”
Akbulut also stated that Tina is a dog that does not bark much, does not attack people out of nowhere, and reacts when its owner is approached, so Berzeg prefers to walk with his dog on the plain in autumn and in the forest in summer.
“We have searched everywhere they could have gone with the teams. We scanned the whole area with a drone. He was going up to the forest area because he had his dog with him. We scanned his usual walking path several times. There is an old cemetery, his father’s cemetery, he used to walk down there. We scanned that area as well but unfortunately, we could not find any trace of him,” Akbulut added.
