KUALA LUMPUR: The search for missing runner Mohammad Ashraf Hassan continues.
A 170-strong police team, aided by personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) and Civil Defence Force, has been assembled to locate Mohammad Ashraf, who went missing while participating in the Gopeng Ultra Trail (GUT) 2019 here on March 23.
Perak police chief Datuk Razarudin Husain @ Abd Rasid said the team, led by state CID chief SAC Yahya Abd Rahman, included 15 officers and men from Bukit Aman, and was also assisted by two tracker dogs from Bukit Aman’s K-9 unit.
According to him, the search and rescue (SAR) operation involves a 10 square kilometre area which was not covered before in the earlier mission.
"The search is expected to last until this evening,” he added.
The first official SAR operation, involving 800 volunteers, was called off a week after the Johor-born Ashraf was found missing.
The 29-year-old, also known as Acap, was reported missing by his friend, Mohd Farid Md Kamal, 32, upon realising that he did not reach the finishing line.
The search which has already entered its 22nd day, has led to multiple theories by the public, who claim the runner has been abducted by “orang bunian” (supernatural being in the Malay folklore). They even alleged that a bomoh (shaman) was called in to perform rituals to find Ashraf.
Razarudin has dimissed these theories, and stressed that the SAR operation followed the standard guidelines.
He said only special prayers had been requested to be held to ensure Acap’s safety in the forest.
Meanwhile, there have been previous cases of people getting lost in Malaysian forest, some have yet to be found to this day.
On June 16, 2015, Teo Kim Lean, 53, was reported to be missing during one of his running routines at Bukit Hatamas in Cheras. His disappearance was dubbed mysterious, as the area was mostly frequented by the public for recreational activities.
Another case involved Hassan Ayat Zainuddin, 28, who participated in a 13-men expedition to climb the Yong Yap mountain, located along the Perak and Kelantan state border in Peninsular Malaysia.
The group was descending from the top on Feb 15, 2009, when they realised he was missing.
A search and rescue mission was called off a month later, and Hassan was considered lost in the thick forest. Later, a poem allegedly written by him months before his disappearance surfaced, the contents of which indicated he was abducted by mystical creatures.