Anxiety is mounting over the fate of 60-year-old Turkish Cypriot Akkan Coșkun, who has been missing since Thursday afternoon in the Paphos forest, in the Valley of the Cedars area near the Roudia Bridge. The 60-year-old had gone to the area with two other people to pick mushrooms; however, under circumstances that are under investigation, he appears to have become separated from his group and has been missing ever since.
As reported on the “Alpha News” program by Alpha Cyprus correspondent Kostas Nanos, who covers the city and district of Paphos, the two companions were located by officials from the Forestry Department, but it was not possible to locate the third member of the group. According to reports, at some point the three individuals reportedly lost their bearings and notified the relevant authorities, prompting a search operation to locate them.
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Rugged terrain with steep cliffs
The search is focused on one of the most inaccessible parts of the Paphos Forest, an area considered particularly difficult due to its steep slopes and cliffs.
As Kostas Nanos explained, if the 60-year-old made his way to lower elevations and night fell before he could reach them, the effort to locate him becomes even more difficult. Furthermore, there is no cell phone service in the area, which makes it difficult to communicate with him or locate him via a cell phone signal.
The search began on Thursday afternoon and continued late into the night, using thermal cameras and drones. Members and officials of the Forestry Department from Stavros Psokas, Panagia, and the forest station at Kampos Tsakkistras, all of whom are very familiar with the area, the trails, and the forest’s road network.
The search efforts resumed in the early hours of Friday morning, but have so far been unsuccessful.
SEE ALSO: Thriller in the Roudia Valley: 60-Year-Old Man Missing; Major Search Operation Underway, Including Drones with Thermal Cameras
The 60-year-old is described as stocky, approximately 1.84 m tall, with short white hair and a thick white beard. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a white T-shirt, a thick purple-and-black-and-white plaid shirt, light-colored jeans, and low-cut boots.
Anyone with information that could help locate him is asked to contact the Kampos Police Station at 22820956 or the nearest police station, or the Citizen’s Hotline at 1460.
