The tide in Phang Nga carried a terrible secret this week. On August 8, near Ban Tha Yai pier in Mueang district, stunned locals spotted what at first looked like debris drifting close to shore. It wasn’t. Police and Kusoltham Foundation rescue workers soon confirmed the chilling truth: the body of a woman, unknown and unnamed, had surfaced despite what appears to have been a calculated attempt to keep her hidden beneath the water.
Police Lieutenant Pheerawit Chaichanyut of Khok Kloi Police Station is leading the investigation, and the details are as stark as they are sobering. The victim, dressed in grey shorts and a brown round-neck T-shirt, showed no immediate signs that could identify her—no ID, no phone, and no personal effects. Officers estimate she had been dead for around two days before the discovery, the murky currents unwilling accomplices in a grim cover-up gone wrong.
According to investigators, a heavy chain had been wrapped tightly around her neck and secured to two concrete dumbbells—makeshift anchors intended to keep the body out of sight on the seabed. Yet currents are unpredictable along this stretch of coastline, especially near piers where boats churn the water and tides shift with stubborn regularity. For reasons the investigation will no doubt pursue, the body drifted free enough to be seen.
“This is a serious case, and we are treating it as a possible murder,” Pol. Lt. Pheerawit said, underscoring what the grim scene already suggested. “The way the body was weighted down points towards an attempt to conceal it.” An autopsy is now underway to determine the precise cause of death, whether the victim was alive before entering the water, and any forensic clues that could point to who she was—and who might be responsible.
In the immediate aftermath, officers widened their net beyond Ban Tha Yai’s fishing community. Local leaders and neighboring districts have been asked to cross-check reports of missing persons, focusing on anyone who matches the victim’s description. Investigators are combing CCTV footage from the pier and surrounding waterways, tracking vessel movements and scanning for suspicious activity in the days leading up to the discovery. It’s meticulous work: a collage of timestamps, boat registrations, and shadowy silhouettes that, when connected, could tell the story of the final hours before the woman slipped beneath the surface.
For people who know Ban Tha Yai, the setting adds an unsettling edge. The pier is a hub for long-tail boats and fishing crews, a place where dawn and dusk bring tides of activity—nets hauled, engines throttled, coolers loaded with the day’s catch. On most days, it’s all salt spray and shouted greetings. On this day, it was blue flashing lights and police tape.
Phang Nga’s officers are urging anyone who was near Ban Tha Yai pier recently to come forward if they noticed anything out of the ordinary: a vehicle loitering after dark, a rushed departure by boat, heavy objects being loaded under cover of night, or a woman matching the victim’s clothing seen days before the discovery. Even small details—a car color, a time, a partial plate number—could prove crucial.
While every case is unique, this grim find echoes another unsettling incident from earlier this year. In February, a fisherman near Khlong Phayun in Ban Chang, Rayong, followed a foul odor to a locked suitcase in the water. Inside, authorities found the decomposed remains of a woman, the case weighted with two 10-kilogram dumbbells. Her identity, like the woman in Phang Nga, remains unknown; investigators then noted she had shoulder-length hair but few other distinguishing features due to the level of decomposition. The cases aren’t officially linked, but the method—weights designed to consign a life to the deep—draws a chilling parallel.
Forensic teams in Phang Nga will now focus on the intimate details the tide can’t wash away: fibers, trace evidence in the chain, DNA that might match a missing person report, and marine growth patterns that can help estimate how long the body was submerged. Divers are expected to search the immediate area for any additional evidence—discarded bags, tools, or unique items that could tie a suspect to the scene.
Behind the blue uniforms and evidence bags is a race against time. The longer a victim remains unidentified, the harder it becomes to trace their movements, friendships, conflicts, or last phone calls. Identity is the first thread—pull it, and the rest of the tapestry can begin to reveal itself. Was she a local resident or a visitor passing through? Did she arrive by road or sea? Was there a witness who didn’t know they were a witness?
For now, the community waits and watches, the familiar pier suddenly cast in a different light. Locals who have navigated those waters all their lives know the sea gives and the sea takes—but it also remembers. Currents carry secrets only so far, and then they return them to shore.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the police immediately, especially those who may have seen unusual activity near Ban Tha Yai pier in the days around August 8. Tips can be given confidentially. A single call could provide the missing link that gives this woman back her name and brings a measure of justice to a place that would rather be known for sunlit mornings and the steady thrum of boat engines than for a case that chills the blood.
As investigators pore over CCTV footage and forensic results, one thing is clear: this was no accident. Somewhere, someone knows how this story began. In Phang Nga, the final chapter has washed ashore. What happens next depends on what the tide of information brings in.
Two women dumped with weights months apart, one with dumbbells in Rayong and now concrete dumbbells and chain in Phang Nga. That is too specific to shrug off as coincidence. Police from both provinces should form a joint task force and compare every scrap of forensics.
Careful with that leap. Weighting a body is sadly a common method, and one was in a suitcase while the other was chained, so the signatures diverge. Link the cases with evidence, not a gut feeling.
Fair, but copycats exist and supply chains leave trails. If both involve locally made concrete dumbbells or the same chain type, that matters. Do retailers in the area keep CCTV for long?
If the chain has unique links or a specific galvanized finish, and the concrete mix shows matching aggregate, that’s a strong lead. Knot work, tape residues, and tool marks can also pattern across cases. Cross-jurisdiction databases are exactly for this.
Anyone buying pairs of dumbbells or multiple bags of cement at odd hours will show up on store cams. Even cash leaves a footprint if it’s the same clerk and time window. Hope investigators pull those tapes now before they’re overwritten.
I live near Ban Tha Yai and the pier is usually loud with engines at dawn, not late night. Last week I saw a pickup idling by the pier after midnight with no one unloading, which felt off, but maybe it was nothing. I really hope the CCTV around the parking lot was actually on.
Near piers the prop wash stirs up everything and eddies can spit things back out where they went in. That would explain why she surfaced there instead of drifting far. Hard thing to write, but may her family find answers.
It was dark blue, older model, and I didn’t catch the plate. I’ll still call the tip line because a small detail might help.
Prop wash can lift debris from the bottom like a blender, especially around pilings. If someone thought concrete would keep something down in shallow, high-traffic water, they underestimated the physics.
Good on you for calling it in. Even the color and the time could correlate with other footage or fuel receipts.
This screams organized networks using the water as their dumping ground. Weighted bodies and late-night boats don’t happen by accident. Don’t expect the police to push too hard if it brushes the wrong people.
That kind of blanket accusation without facts is reckless and potentially libelous. Organized crime exists, but so do jealous partners and one-off killers who panic. Let’s see the forensics before we declare a conspiracy.
I said what it looks like, not what it is, and I’ll happily be wrong. But a chain around the neck and concrete weights is planned, not a heat-of-the-moment toss. Investigators should at least treat organized angles seriously.
Planned disposal doesn’t automatically equal syndicate. Domestic abusers and acquaintances often try to hide bodies with whatever is at hand, including concrete. Victimology will be key here.
Release a still from the pier CCTV and a clear shot of her clothing, even if you blur the face. The public can cross-check missing persons faster than any database. Time is everything if you want a name.
And the public can also misidentify people, harass families, and derail leads. There’s a reason investigators control the flow, even if it feels slow. Crowdsolving without guardrails can ruin someone’s life.
So do it with guardrails: cropped images, known timestamps, and a proper tip portal. We’ve seen cases cracked in hours when photos circulate in the right groups.
Half the plate and a grainy hoodie can send vigilantes after the wrong truck. Keep it targeted and verified.
Everyone acts like small piers are quaint, but this is why I tell visitors to avoid them. If a body can be dumped there, what else is happening after dark. Stay on the main beaches and skip the long-tail rides.
This looks targeted, not random predation on tourists. Her clothes sound like a local or a worker, not someone on holiday gear. Don’t turn a tragedy into fear marketing.
Visitors rent long-tails there too, and danger doesn’t check passports. If authorities want confidence, they should show nightly patrols and working lights on the pier.
Our livelihoods depend on people feeling welcome, not terrified. Ask for better lighting and patrols, yes, but don’t smear a whole community over one killer.
Seen this movie before where they parade a “suspect” and the real story never comes out. When the public loses trust, witnesses keep quiet. Prove me wrong with transparency this time.
Cynicism is easy until it scares off the one person who saw something. This unit has solved tougher cases with CCTV and cell site data, so let them work. If you have concerns, demand regular briefings, not silence.
Exactly, updates matter. Publish what you can about timelines, what areas you’ve canvassed, and which missing persons lists you’ve cross-checked.
Chain fibers, concrete composition, and marine growth will tell a story if handled right. That’s not PR, that’s science, and it’s hard to fake.
Please remember this is someone’s daughter or friend, not just a headline. The gory speculation helps clicks, not her. Share missing person posts and the tip number instead.
Some details matter because they jog memories and catch liars, so it’s not all gore for gore’s sake. We can talk mechanics responsibly while keeping respect for the victim.
Agreed, keep it responsible and focused on finding her name. Save the rest for the investigators and the court.
Two concrete dumbbells and a chain around the neck is amateur and brutal at the same time. Concrete gains weight fast but small shapes have high surface area, and trapped gases can still lift a body after a day or two. In choppy, shallow water near a pier, that rig was always going to fail.
Plenty of DIY concrete weights out here for fishing nets and home gyms, so sourcing might be local. Check hardware stores for chain cut by the meter and bags of cement sold late. Also look at who’s been casting in buckets or PVC molds lately.
If the concrete spalled, it might leave unique aggregate prints or voids matching a specific mold. Tool marks on the chain or bolt cutters can survive immersion. Those are signatures you can actually compare.
Respect to the rescue teams and divers who have to pull her out and then sleep at night. That work is heavy in every sense. Hope they get the support they need too.
Not every weighted body is the same killer, and pushing that angle can make people miss the real suspect. Focus on the pier’s cameras, the boat movements, and missing persons, not serial headlines.