The body of 24-year-old Katrial Nachman Kinan of Beit Shemesh, who had been missing for about a week and a half after setting out for Safed, was found Thursday afternoon in Switzerland Forest near Tiberias.
His body was sent to the Abu Kabir forensic institute, where the circumstances of his death will be examined. His family has been notified.
Katrial Nachman Kinan
(Photo: Israel Police)
Kinan was last seen in the area of Gai Beach on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. His family said he disappeared last Monday after sending a message to his mother.
Only hours before his body was found, the family had again appealed to the public for help, hoping he would be found alive.
His brother Daniel said Thursday morning that the family had been conducting intensive searches and had made progress by reviewing security camera footage.
“We are in very intense days and making every effort,” he said. “In the past 24 hours, based on analysis of cameras, we can say that we have made progress. There was footage of him making sure he entered the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes and then leaving. Today we are trying to decipher that and understand where he went from there. At the same time, other directions are also being examined.”
Daniel said he had last spoken with his brother the previous Sunday evening.
“He told me he was going to Safed, but he never arrived,” he said. “Based on location data, we know he reached Tiberias. There is cellphone location data, and we also know from the rabbi. Last Monday he sent our mother a message saying his battery was running out and not to worry. Since then, he disappeared and there has been no contact with him.”
The family had been working closely with police in Beit Shemesh while carrying out searches in both Tiberias and Beit Shemesh, Daniel said.
“Every piece of information could move us another step closer to finding him: reviewing cameras, searching open areas or abandoned buildings on foot, help from dog-handling teams and drones, volunteers, friends from across the country, missing-person search units and Yedidim,” he said. “Anyone who can help should come and assist. The power of the public is enormous.”
The area between Safed and Meron has in the past been dubbed the “Israeli Bermuda Triangle” because of an unusual series of missing-person cases over the years.
At least 10 people have disappeared in the area since Israel’s establishment, including Haymanot Kasau and Moishy Kleinerman. Police have previously stressed that there is no known common denominator linking the cases.
The terrain itself can complicate searches, however, with large wooded and open areas, mountainous conditions and relatively few surveillance cameras.