No trace of young woman after 15 days of search efforts in eastern Turkey
Search efforts for 21-year-old Rojin Kabaiş have entered its 15th day in eastern Turkey’s Van province. Kabaiş had left her dormitory after dinner, and her items were found along the Van Lake with no trace from the woman.
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Search and rescue teams’ efforts to find university student Rojin Kabaiş remain fruitless on their 15th day. Kabaiş, a first-year student at eastern Turkey’s Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, went out after dinner at her dormitory on Sept. 27 and did not return.
When her friends couldn't reach her by phone, they notified the police around noon on Sept. 28. Police learned that Kabaiş had told a friend she planned to collect pebbles along the Van Lake at around 6:30 p.m. on September 27, but her friend declined to join.
Search teams on Sept. 28, found Kabaiş’s phone, headphones, snacks, and water bottle along the Van Lake, and the phone was handed over to the police for investigation.
Kabaiş had told her mother on the phone that she was going to buy coffee, water, and cake from a store. Police, the Gendarmerie Coast Guard, AFAD, and the Metropolitan Municipality's fire department launched a search operation.
Volunteer rescue teams also joined the efforts, with police providing occasional aerial support. Search teams are using side-scan sonar equipment, surface radar from the gendarmerie, and underwater imaging devices from the police. Divers from the gendarmerie, police, and AFAD have been periodically diving into the lake to aid the search. Kabaiş's headscarf was found on Oct. 10 near the Bardakçı neighborhood on the Van Lakeshore.
Search efforts for Kabaiş are focused on the area between Yüzüncü Yıl University and Bardakçı Neighborhood, particularly where the headscarf was found. Volunteer teams are assisting, and cadaver dogs brought in from the neighboring police departments are being used. As the search enters its 15th day, no new clues have been found besides the headscarf.
Kabaiş had just begun university, and moved into the dormitory two days before disappearing.
The Free Women’s Movement (TJA) on Oct. 9 distributed flyers in central Van to inquire about the whereabouts of Kabaiş and contribute to efforts to find her.
In the evening, TJA activists, along with members of parliament and local leaders of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), gathered in the courtyard of the DEM Party’s Van provincial office. From there, they split into groups and began distributing flyers.
The flyers, which featured photos of Rojin Kabaiş and the question "Where is Rojîn?/Where is Rojin?" were handed out in the city's busiest streets and side alleys.