Missing Swiss student found dead

The 24-year-old Swiss student who was reported missing three months ago was found in a morgue in Antipolo City with a gunshot wound, a police official said Tuesday.

Alex Reich, a student of English language in a school in Cubao, Quezon City, had been the subject of an intensive police search that involved several local police units, Zurich police and the Interpol.

Chief Inspector Rodelio Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said investigation showed the victim was shot and killed in a vacant lot in Loren’s Subdivision in Barangay (village) San Roque, Antipolo City.

His body was discovered by local police at least two hours after he was seen leaving his condominium unit in Torre Venezia in Quezon City past midnight on September 22 last year.

Marcelo said that based on the Antipolo police report, the body of Reich was found at 3 a.m. on the same day.

The CIDU chief said residents of the village had reported to the police about hearing a gunshot and the sound of a vehicle leaving the area. When the police got there, they reportedly found the body.

But Marcelo said the deputy police chief of Antipolo City informed them of the presence of the body of the victim only last Monday afternoon, or more than three months after the body was found.

Officer on case, Senior Police Officer 3 Ding Pascu, said that according to the Antipolo police, they found out about the case of the missing foreigner through the dedicated website that was installed to help in the search of Reich.

“Aksidente lang daw, na nakita nila sa Internet about the missing student and noticed the resemblance of the photo and called up QCPD’s number as one of those listed to contact for any information,” Pascu said.

On December 3, the victim’s father, Manuel, Zurich police and a representative from the Swiss Embassy held a press conference to announce a P200,000 reward for anyone who could provide any information about Reich’s location.

Pascu said the Antipolo police should have reported the incident of finding the body last September to the National Capital Region Police Office, particularly since it involved a foreign national. “It’s standard procedure.”

Pascu, who also led the investigation of the disappearance of the foreign national, said the body was stored in Antipolo Funeral Homes.

He said the embassy and his foreign counterparts had already been informed about the recovery of the body of Reich.

“The family had yet to identify the body, but based on the photos and description and the tattoo on his arm, we are certain it’s Reich,” he said.

Filipino friends of Reich reported on Sept. 22, 2011, that he failed to go back to his unit and was missing.

Police records showed that his last communication to his Filipino friends was through a text message: “I’m in a white car with friends, coming soon.”

Pascu also said they have yet to establish the motive for the killing.

Inquirer tried to contact Antipolo Police station, but could not get through.