Bogor police deny missing civil servant found in Sukabumi

BOGOR, thekabarnews.com– Police have rejected a social media claim that Bayu Zulkarnaen, a Bogor city employee [ASN] who has been missing since August, was found alive in Sukabumi and brought back by officers

Investigators were still trying to establish his whereabouts when they addressed the claim on Thursday, Sept. 17. Deputy Bogor City Police Chief AKBP Arie Trestiawan said, as quoted by detikNews, “Not yet. It is still under investigation.”

The claim spread after a video circulated online saying Bayu had been found on Wednesday night. Bogor City Police said they checked with officers in Sukabumi and found no confirmation that police there had located him. 

A Bogor police spokesperson also said none of the city’s police stations had taken Bayu into custody. The account of where he was supposedly found, including claims about his private life, remains unverified and should not be presented as an explanation for his disappearance.

Bayu, an employee of Bogor’s Archives and Library Agency, was reported missing on the evening of Aug. 13 near a bridge over the Cisadane River in Cipaku, South Bogor. 

His motorcycle was found near the bridge, while residents found his helmet and bag in the river. Those findings prompted a search of the waterway, but they did not establish that he had fallen in.

Bogor Mayor Dedie Rachim visited the search site and met Bayu’s family as rescue teams worked along the river. Deputy Mayor Jenal Mutaqin also visited the area and said officials were gathering information from witnesses as well as searching the water.

Bogor’s disaster management agency later apologized for an unverified statement about Bayu’s reported discovery. 

Police said their investigation would continue. Until authorities confirm his location, neither the Sukabumi account nor any theory about why he disappeared can resolve the case.