Thai police recover a car with a man’s body from a Kanchanaburi canal, ending a two-year missing-person case. Read the full story now.
On Monday, Jan 12, Thai police pulled a sedan from an irrigation canal in Kanchanaburi province, uncovering a human skeleton that appears to belong to a man missing since 2023.
How the car was found
Officers from the Tha Muang police station received a tip about a sunken vehicle in a local canal at around 9:30 a.m. The water level had been lowered for routine maintenance when the discovery was made.
The vehicle, a copper‑coloured Toyota Vios, showed clear signs of prolonged submersion – a shattered windshield and a thick coating of algae.
Inside the vehicle
When the car was lifted, investigators found a complete set of human remains seated in the driver’s seat. The registration plate linked the car to Pattanasak Kanchanachokchai, a 61‑year‑old resident of the area.
Family response
Pattanasak had been reported missing by his wife in August 2023. The family travelled to the scene after officials contacted them; his wife broke down in tears on sight of the body.
His nephew, Wanpiya Kun‑eung, 49, recalled that Pattanasak had asked him for a salary advance of 8,000 baht shortly before disappearing. The money was transferred the same afternoon, but later that evening the nephew was informed that Pattanasak was missing.
The wife explained that Pattanasak once owned a garage, which was forced to close during the COVID‑19 pandemic. She has been searching for him ever since.
Forensic work
Police have sent the skeletal remains to a hospital for a full autopsy and DNA testing to confirm identity and establish the cause of death. If the tests confirm Pattanasak’s identity, the body will be returned to the family for burial.
Similar incidents
Last August in Phitsanulok, rescuers uncovered a skeleton inside a wrecked vehicle lodged in a mountain gorge while retrieving a crashed truck. GPS data later showed the vehicle was a rental car, confirming a pattern of hidden remains in abandoned cars.
The Kanchanaburi case highlights the challenges Thai authorities face in locating missing persons, especially when vehicles become submerged and concealed for years.