SIBU, Jan 19 — A 46-year-old man who was reported missing since January 15 during a fishing trip, has returned home safely at Rumah Sebau in Simpang Bukut, Jalan Mukah-Selangau on Friday (Jan 17).
Mukah police chief DSP Muhamad Rizal Abdullah said the victim, Elin Sebau, lost his way in an abandoned oil palm plantation due to heavy rain which made it difficult for him to find the way out.
He said the missing person’s report was filed by the victim’s daughter, Melissa, on January 16 after a search by the longhouse residents was unsuccessful.
The search-and-rescue (SAR) operation was then initiated involving the police, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Civil Defence Force (APM), and local residents.
“A command post was set up at Ladang 3, Simpang Bukut, and the SAR operation involving four teams scoured the area within 4 square kilometers.
“However, right after the second day of the SAR operation, the victim was reported to have safely returned to his longhouse at 5.30pm,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Muhamad Rizal said Elin had taken shelter under a tree for two nights without food and only relied on water from the plantation area.
“Expecting no help, the victim attempted to search for a way out until he finally found a hilly path that led him to a nearby longhouse on the third day,” he said.
Elin is now undergoing a health check-up at Mukah Hospital. —The Borneo Post