Mbah Bajiyo Found Dead in Paliyan Sinkhole After 8 Days Missing

Kasemo Sentono, known as Mbah Bajiyo (81), a resident of Selorejo, Sodo, Paliyan, Gunungkidul, who had been missing since the beginning of last week, was found dead inside a sinkhole in Paliyan. Paliyan Police Chief AKP Slamet Riyanto stated that the discovery of the body occurred when a resident of Mulusan, Paliyan, was active in a forest area managed by the Ministry of Forestry in Karangmiri, Mulusan, around 10:45 WIB. While traversing the forest, the resident detected a foul odour. Upon investigation, the resident discovered a person lying deceased and already decomposing in the forest. The resident immediately ran and shouted that he had found a body, subsequently reporting the incident to village officials, who then forwarded the report to the joint SAR team. The joint SAR team then approached the location and confirmed that the body found was the elderly man who had been the subject of the search. The team evacuated the body from the Luweng Ngeleng sinkhole. The evacuation process took approximately one hour, and by noon the body had been transported to the family home. Authorities estimate the victim had been deceased for about a week. The incident began when Mbah Bajiyo was at a neighbour’s house on Monday (22/6) and excused himself around 11:00 WIB to walk to his child’s home in Gebang, Kanigoro, Saptosari, Gunungkidul. When he failed to return home by nightfall, his family initiated a search. After he remained missing until Wednesday (24/6), the family reported the case to authorities. A joint SAR team then deployed to the location, searching an area up to three kilometres from the victim’s last known position, including the use of a thermal drone around the Ngeleng Cave area.