A former beauty queen has been found dead in the Philippines, with her naked body discovered floating in the waters off Tacloban City, Leyte on the morning of 4 Aug.
According to a Facebook post by the Police Regional Office 8, a fisherman was alerted to the corpse by a fellow fisherman and notified the authorities.
Source: Police Regional Office 8 on Facebook
Officials from the fisheries bureau and local enforcement teams later retrieved the body and brought it ashore.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they found the body in a bloated state, with visible signs of trauma.
The woman’s eyeballs were bulging and her tongue was protruding. Her neck, hands, and feet were bound, and her face had been covered with a black cloth and tightly wrapped in blue duct tape.
Source: 93.5 Brigada Tacloban on Facebook
Based on distinctive tattoos on her abdomen and back, the body was identified as that of Akini Arradaza, a 35-year-old former beauty queen who had been abducted on the morning of 31 July in Ormoc City, about 46km away.
Her identity was later confirmed by family members before the body was sent for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
CCTV footage shows the victim being forcibly taken by three unidentified armed men, who pushed her into a black vehicle while she was standing by the roadside.
Source: K5 News FM Tacloban Digital on Facebook
The abduction was only reported to the police on 4 Aug by the victim’s sister, who also shared that Ms Arradaza had briefly spoken to another resident in the neighbourhood that morning.
Authorities believe the vehicle was later seen heading towards Tacloban and are coordinating with nearby regions to aid in its search.
Also read: Body with hands & feet tied found near railway tracks in M’sia, suspected to be thrown from bridge
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Featured image adapted from 93.5 Brigada Tacloban on Facebook and Police Regional Office 8 on Facebook.