Chiang Mai health worker found dead in irrigation canal after overnight disappearance

CHIANG MAI — 31 October 2026, A 25-year-old health worker who disappeared overnight after leaving home to buy food was found dead in an irrigation canal in Fang district, Chiang Mai, on Saturday afternoon. Her motorcycle was also found in the canal.

The woman, identified as Niraphon, nicknamed Mind, worked at the Nong Yao health centre in Fang district. She had been reported missing on 30 October after failing to return home from a nearby food shop.

Her 49-year-old father, Sayan, said Mind had ridden her motorcycle to buy food at a shop near their home before disappearing. CCTV footage showed her leaving the Pa Ae Hang Mu shop on her motorcycle, but investigators found no footage showing her reaching the main road.

Her family was unable to contact her and became increasingly concerned for her safety.

At around 15:20 on Saturday, officers from Fang Police Station, Fang rescue workers and relatives found Mind’s body in an irrigation canal near the food shop. Her motorcycle was also found in the canal.

Police said officers reviewed CCTV footage along the route she was believed to have taken after receiving the missing-person report. As there was no evidence that she had reached the main road, police and rescue workers searched the smaller road she had travelled along and the area around the shop.

Investigators said one possibility was that she had accidentally ridden her motorcycle into the canal and suffered fatal injuries from the impact.

However, police said they have not yet determined the cause of death and are not ruling out any possibilities.

Investigators will question relatives, her boyfriend and other witnesses, and review additional CCTV footage. Her body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the cause of death before police decide on further action.