Missing Kharkiv freelance journalist Oleksandr Lapshyn found dead
Kharkiv freelance journalist Oleksandr Lapshyn, who disappeared in May, was found dead. Serhiy Bolvinov, the chief of investigations at the Kharkiv Oblast Police, reported this to Suspilne.
The media worker went missing on May 29 under unknown circumstances; he was being searched for and found dead on June 29.
"On May 30, 2024, the police received a statement from Oleksandr's family saying that he had gone missing. The police started an investigation. On June 29, we received a report from a passer-by who found a hanging body, seemingly as a result of suicide, in Sortyrovka district. Of course, we had to identify the deceased, because the body had been out there for a long time, and it was impossible to visually confirm who this person was. There was a note in his pocket, but it was unreadable because of the heat. It was probably a suicide note," Bolvinov said.
The police took DNA from Oleksandr's father and got a match with the DNA of the discovered dead man.
"These are the results we have today, we have already informed Oleksandr's family. We will officially determine the cause of death after the forensic medical examination; however, we have reason to believe that the person whose body was found in the green patch committed suicide," said Bolvinov.
Oleksandr Humanyuk, head of the search and rescue unit of the non-governmental organization "Rose on Hand", said that they had been searching for Oleksandr Lapshyn for a month.
On June 29, activists and volunteers gathered to search the area near the man's house, they managed to pass through a part of it.
"Unfortunately, the body was found by locals, they called us, told us, we arrived. It is about one and a half kilometers from his house. We were withholding the information so that the investigators could work and notify the family," said Oleksandr Humaniuk.
According to Suspilne Kharkiv, Oleksandr Lapshyn did not work in media until the full-scale invasion. In the spring of 2022, he worked as a fixer for the international agency Reuters for about a month, has several publications on the website of "Ukrainian Pravda".
Oleksandr Lapshyn's disappearance was reported in June by Kharkiv media. They cited Oleksandr's family and friends, who said that he had left his apartment on May 29 without his documents or a phone. He never came home and was out of contact.
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