Teenage hiker’s body located in ditch on Margalla Hills trail after extensive search: police

The body of a missing teenager was located on Monday from Margalla Hills Trail 5 in Islamabad after a lengthy search operation, police said.

According to a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Islamabad police, the body was found in a ditch and arrangements were being made to retrieve it, the statement said.

The city superintendent of police (SP) and the search team were present at the spot along with family members of the deceased, according to the police.

“It seems as though the teenager lost his way and fell into the ditch after his foot slipped,” read the statement.

“Further investigation is underway and a post-mortem of the body will be conducted to cover all aspects.”

A first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed on the deceased’s mother’s request on Sunday afternoon at the Secretariat Police Station.

According to the FIR, the teenager went for hiking on Trail 5 at 7am on Saturday with five of his classmates.

At about 5pm, the deceased’s mother received a call from one of the friends saying they had reached home, and inquired whether her son had also reached his house, to which she responded in the negative, the FIR said.

The mother dialed Rawalpindi rescue helpline 15 and several police officers promptly reached the spot to help search for the teenager, according to the FIR. Despite an extensive search, the body could not be located as night fell, it added.

According to a statement on X posted late last night by the Islamabad Police, the Quick Response Team, Margalla Foot Patrol and drone cameras were used to assist in locating the body.

Safe City Cameras were also used to help trace the teenager’s movements, and various people were also questioned as the scope of the investigation was widened.