20 Days under rock debris: 68-yr.-old man swept by landslide in La Trinidad in July finally found

La Trinidad, Benguet - After twenty days of search and retrieval operations, the body of a 68-year-old man believed to be buried by a landslide amid the heavy rains in La Trinidad last month was finally found.

The old man, Nardo Diplat Cariño, was reported missing on July 25. He was last seen cleaning a drainage canal near his farm in Sitio Talinguroy, Barangay Wangal at around 4 a.m. that day when the landslide happened. 

Since then, authorities and volunteers had been working tirelessly to locate the body. They finally found him on August 14 at Barangay Benengbeng, Sablan. 

In its report, the Benguet Provincial Police Office (Benguet PPO) said authorities were notified by Barangay Tanod Sherwin Sholin about a body he spotted trapped under large rocks along a river in Sitio Bantogey. 

Following the report, the joint personnel of La Trinidad MPS, Sablan MPS, Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit, BFP Sablan, Sablan MLGU, and Banengbeng BLGU, along with concerned citizens and the victim’s family, immediately proceeded to the location to retrieve the body. 

Benguet PPO said Cariño’s body was already in the state of decomposition when retrieved and was positively identified by his son, Epher Julian, through his hair and left foot. 

Despite being positively identified by the son, a post-mortem and DNA examination will still be conducted to determine the exact cause of death and further confirm the identity of the remains.