Experienced, fit M’sian vanishes during trail running race, leaves behind only water bottle

MS Unsolved: The vanishing of an experienced outdoor runner in the middle of the day

A young Malaysian suddenly vanished during a trail-running race, despite it occurring during the day and in the midst of hundreds of others.

On 23 March 2019, 29-year-old Mohammad Ashraf Hassan was participating in the Gopeng Ultra Trail 2019. The man, nicknamed Acap, joined nearly 500 other runners in the 25 km outdoor race.

The race, which takes place in the forests outside Perak town, started at 7:30am. Despite his experience and fitness, Acap never crossed the finish line. By the time the cutoff time of 2pm rolled around, he had seemingly vanished amid a midday race along a trail with hundreds of others.

His friends became increasingly concerned.

Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful, prompting his friends to search for him. It bore no fruit, and by 1:09am, they filed a report of his disappearance with the police.

Search-and-rescue operations lasted nearly a month, but authorities were only able to locate the man’s phone. Since then, the trail has gone cold.

Runner vanishes while in a trail running race

The investigation unearthed Acap’s last traces following his disappearance. The race organiser heavily documented the search online.

On 24 March, the organisers released information detailing his last known whereabouts. This was before he vanished while in a trail running race

“He started running at flag-off at 7.30am Saturday and was last seen at Checkpoint 6 of the 25km route at 9.29am same day,” the post said. One commenter noted that Acap must have been among the earliest to arrive at Checkpoint 6. The commenter indicated that Acap was a very skilled trail runner.

Source: Gopeng ULTRA on Facebook

During a search that very same day, they made a significant find: Acap’s water bottle. Authorities began focusing their search in the surrounding area where they made the discovery.

“We are pursuing the trail of tracker dogs which stopped at a limestone cliff apart from getting feedback from locals,” they said. Authorities also noted that the area had rugged terrain and many caves.

Despite the find, authorities halted the search that day due to heavy downpour. And unfortunately, this appears to be the last traces of Acap ever found.

He had vanished just a few kilometres before the finish

On 26 March, stories emerged from fellow runners who had encountered Acap on the trail. Photos showed he reached the peak of Bukit Batu Putih, the most challenging part of the race.

Acap had helped a fellow runner take a photo at the peak.

Source: Gopeng ULTRA on Facebook

On 28 March, new clues shifted the search to the final 5 km of the race, which comprises more established roads that connect villages. Despite a week of searching and efforts from many volunteers, including Acap’s ailing mother, the rescue efforts failed.

Source: The Star

On 31 March, authorities changed the rescue efforts to a search and recovery for Acab’s body. There were also concerns about rescuers travelling into private property in search of Acab, as the final stretch of the race included many villages.

Nearly a month after search efforts began, the fire department announced it would halt them.

“The locals asked search personnel to leave the area temporarily and be given the time and space, about two or three days, to find the runner because they had successes in finding missing persons in the area in the past,” they said.

Acab’s own brother echoed the sentiment.

No answers in the years to follow

Acap’s disappearance baffled authorities and observers. A skilled and fit trail runner suddenly disappeared in the middle of the day under normal conditions. And he vanished during a race with several hundred others.

The area he reportedly went missing was also after the trail’s greatest challenge, and in a region populated with villages. Furthermore, the race had taken place twice before since 2017, each time using this exact route.

“The route goes by villages, houses as well as farms, whereas the route before Gua Tempurung is rocky in nature and is used by local villagers,” said the race director. The fire department also stated that the route was not dangerous.

Despite an extensive search, which included K9 units and volunteers, the only trace of Acap ever found was a single water bottle.

Source: Malaysiakini

Speculation and intrigue quickly followed as he seemingly vanished while in a trail running race.

Some speculated that the local villagers themselves had something to do with Acap’s disappearance. This was due to the authorities’ abrupt decision to halt the official search and turn the efforts over to the locals.

Some believed his disappearance had something to do with jungle spirits. Police even had to deny rumours that they had been using witch doctors to try to track down Acap.

Police also ruled out wild animals as a possible explanation for his disappearance. They said that there was no history of wild animal attacks in the area. Also, they would not have missed the aftermath of such an attack.

Brother still seeks answers years later

Three years after Acap’s disappearance, his brother announced a bounty for anyone who could find him before Hari Raya that year. He promised a reward of RM 12,000 (~S$3,900).

Mohd Zahiruddin also called out those who still speculate about the disappearance and spread primarily bad stories about Acap.

Source: The New Straits Times

“Some say he ran away, some say he married an elf and did not return, others say he was captured by a jinn for stealing stones, eating snails and so on,” he wrote on Facebook. He lamented the stories spread by content creators who were simply looking to get views on their videos without considering the feelings of a grieving family.