Victory Gate inside the Angkor temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Dave Walker’s body was found near here today, May 1, nearly three months after he went missing. Photo: Coconuts Bangkok
The body of a Canadian journalist missing in Cambodia since February was found today inside Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex.
Dave Walker, long a fixture in Bangkok and Southeast Asia, vanished under suspicious circumstances on Feb. 14 from a hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. No one reported seeing the 58-year-old man again until this morning, when a local child discovered his body near the Victory Gate inside the Angkor temple complex, according to information from one of Walker’s associates.
“Dave lived a remarkable life and was loved by many thousands around the world,” journalist Nate Thayer wrote in a statement. “We want to thank the Cambodian people for the love they have shown Dave that was equal to the nearly 30 years of love Dave devoted to Cambodia and it’s people. Many thousands of Cambodians, as did Dave, died under senseless and tragic circumstances. Dave devoted his life to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of more than 2 million Cambodian in the 30 years he worked and lived in that country.”
An initial examination was unable to determine Walker’s cause of death, but authorities reportedly said he appeared to have died several weeks earlier.
A proper forensic examination and autopsy have yet to be performed.
Walker had been researching a story on Khmer Rouge atrocities prior to his disappearance, and some friends speculated his disappearance might have been connected.
They have asked the Cambodian government to cooperate with a formal investigation to determine who was responsible for Walker’s death.
Canadian Dave Walker and Cambodian Sonny Chhoun visiting Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2013. Photo: Richard S. Ehrlich
Related:
Missing in Cambodia: With few pieces to the puzzle, friends mull Dave Walker’s fate
Missing expat writer’s friends suspect foul play in disappearance
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