Search for missing Spaniard leads to skeletal remains

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Spanish national since July last year has taken a curious turn with the police tracing the skeletal remains purportedly belonging to the tourist deep inside the Belthangady forests in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

Superintendent of Dakshina Kannada police B Dayanand told reporters that the skeletal remains recovered from the forests had been sent for DNA testing in Hyderabad to ascertain whether they belong to Spaniard Francisco Alberto Belil, 25, who went missing eight months ago while touring India. “The tests will also find out the cause of the death”, Dayanand said.

The police investigation into the disappearance of Alberto began after the Embassy of Spain approached the authorities in Karnataka with slender leads that the tourist had been camping in thick forests and natives residing on the fringes of the forest were conversing in Tulu.

With Tulu being the native language of people residing in Dakshina Kannada district, the police in Belthangady was assigned with the task of tracing down Alberto in the forests falling in its vicinity. Armed with photographs of the missing foreigner, the police began interacting with natives in Belthangady forests.

A breakthrough was reached when three brothers residing in Charmadi village identified the photograph and reluctantly confessed to providing the foreigner with supplies when he was camping in the forests.

Dayanand told reporters that the Alberto had decided to shift his camping site to a higher altitude in June. The brothers noticing that the foreigner had not visited the village to replenish his supplies decided to meet him at the camping site. When they reached the camping site, they were shocked to Alberto’s body hanging from a tree. The terrified brothers collected the belongings of the foreigner and returned to the village.

Dayanand said the police had seized the tent, which was found at the camping site. “We are confident that we will recover the deceased’s mobile phone, tape recorder and other belongings”, he said. The Dakshina Kannada police have informed the Embassy of Spain about the developments in the case.