Thai girl, 17, who went missing for a week, reportedly found dead

The 17-year-old girl in Thailand, who went missing for about a week, has reportedly been found dead.

The case made headlines on May 9 after it was reported that she was last seen at around 12am on May 1.

Found in the water

Latest news in Thailand indicate that Naphatsorn “Namtan” Plerphukiao was found dead on May 3 in the Chao Phraya River at the pier of a hotel in the Khlong San district in Bangkok.

However, the police were purportedly unable to identify her at the time.

The missing girl's case was brought to light after her father travelled about 600km from the Udon Thani province in the Isaan region to Bangkok on May 7 to seek help from the media to appeal for information on his daughter's whereabouts.

By that time, the girl had already been missing for one week.

Timeline of what allegedly happened

Information on the case is currently still incomplete as it is under investigation.

Most of the information have been reported in broadcast news in Thai.

However, the Facebook account of a person, believed to be a relative of the deceased girl, put up a post on May 9 evening revealing that Namtan had indeed passed away.

According to tnews.co.th and other Thai media reports, Namtan left her dormitory in the Rangsit area of Pathum Thani province at around 12am on May 1.

She was seen entering an orange taxi that she had booked through a mobile application.

Namtan then became uncontactable when she started travelling.

This was after she apparently travelled from her dormitory to the Rama 3 area of Bangkok.

She allegedly then booked another ride from Rama 3 to Pattaya Walking Street, but the driver cancelled the ride halfway through.

It is not clear if she eventually made her way there and then back to Rama 3.

This was so as her body was subsequently found in the river in Bangkok.

Thailand police said they have received information about the supposed second driver who ferried Namtan, after formally seeking information from the ride-hailing app as part of investigations.

Father's account

On May 10, 2025, it was reported that the father said he last spoke to his daughter on the evening of Mar. 30 and she appeared normal.

This was after Namtan's older sister asked to borrow money from Namtan to pay tuition fees.

Before she left, Namtan was excited about going to Bangkok for her college internship, the father said.

The father also said Namtan had worked as a waitress at a restaurant in Rangsit.

She had been away from home for about a month before tragedy struck, when Namtan was supposed to be on her school break.

The father added that his daughter did not have a boyfriend, was not someone who socialised with people easily, and did not talk about any problems she had or showed any unusual behaviour.

He also did not know why his daughter would travel alone to Rama 3 without any of her personal belongings.

She only brought along a mobile phone and did not take her identification card, student card, and other valuables.

Her body was likely found without any form of identification.

The father could still identify her body as he recognised her clothing.

He also voiced his suspicion that his daughter could have been murdered.

Money in bank account

The Facebook post on May 9 evening that confirmed Namtan's passing indicated a sum of money appeared in Namtan's bank account.

Queries have been raised to the bank for the origin of the funds, but it would apparently take a few days to get answers.

The post also appealed for camera footage of Namtan in her final moments, if she allegedly fell into the water, and for any footage of her getting into the car that eventually brought her to the location where she was later found dead.

Top photo via Papasson Som