Med student who went missing in North Jeolla rains found dead

A medical student who was reported missing after record rains hit North Jeolla was found dead on Friday, about 55 hours after he disappeared.

Police officers from the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency search for a student who went missing on Wednesday around the area near Iksan Stream on Friday. [YONHAP]

A medical student in his 20s who went missing while attending a student outing with his classmates near Iksan, North Jeolla, was found dead on Friday, about 55 hours after he disappeared.

The student’s body was discovered near Changpyeong Bridge over Iksan Stream at around 11:11 a.m. Friday, according to the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency. Police confirmed the student's identity through fingerprints.

The student, reportedly studying medicine at a university in the region, went missing at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday after going out to buy cigarettes. At the time, record-breaking heavy rain in the North Jeolla area induced damage as roads became flooded.

The deceased student’s peers had been sleeping after drinking during the outing. Upon waking up and discovering that the student was missing, they called 112 at around 11 a.m. Wednesday, telling police that they had lost contact with their classmate.

Police found the student’s shoes in a tuft of bushes near Iksan Stream and searched intensively around the area before finding the body. They plan to request an autopsy by the National Forensic Service to determine the exact cause of death.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]