Missing farmer found dead

LAUR, Nueva Ecija — Skeletal remains believed to belong to a farmer who went missing nearly six years ago during typhoon “Ulysses” were discovered by a farmer in Barangay San Fernando, Laur, on Saturday.

According to the Laur Municipal Police Station (MPS), the discovery was made by a resident who was catching fish in a fishpond along a former river channel when he spotted what appeared to be human bones inside a raincoat submerged in the water.

The farmer retrieved the remains, placed them beside the river and reported the discovery to a barangay tanod, who alerted the police.

Responding police officers found that the skeletal remains had already been gathered and placed inside a sack. The Laur MPS sought the assistance of the Scene of the Crime Operations team to process and examine the remains and the crime scene.

Following the investigation, Zenaida Lulunan y Barillo, 61, of Barangay San Vicente, positively identified the recovered clothing and personal belongings as those of her missing husband, Alejandro Lulunan y Salvador, 61, a farmer and pastor of the Wesleyan Church.

The recovered items included a blue raincoat, white undershirt, yellow-green long-sleeved shirt bearing the word “Motortrade,” and a black flashlight.

Zenaida told police that her husband had been missing since 12 November 2020, when he left home during the onslaught of typhoon “Ulysses” to secure two cows and a carabao tethered at their farm. He never returned.

The Laur MPS will coordinate with the Nueva Ecija Provincial Forensic Unit for DNA testing of the skeletal remains. The results will be compared with a DNA sample from the couple’s child to confirm the identity.