SURAT THANI - Tissue, bone samples and diving gear found in the sea off Koh Tao have been sent to Bangkok for DNA checks as investigators try to shed light on what happened to a Russian tourist missing since the middle of last month.
Pol Lt Col Napa Senathip, a deputy chief of Koh Tao police, flew by helicopter from the island to Surat Thani airport on Friday, and sent a box containing some bones, tissue samples, a goggle strap and a green vest to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok.
Forensic specialists will need about a week to confirm whether they match DNA samples collected from the Koh Tao Hostel where Valentina Novozhyonova stayed.
The items were found by divers on the seabed in Chalok Ban Kao Bay on Thursday, and are the best lead yet as to what became of the missing Russian tourist.
Ms Novozhyonova, 23, checked into the resort on Feb 11. The hostel owner asked police to help find her on Feb 24, because she had not checked out as scheduled on Feb 16 and had not been seen.
The hostel management said they did not immediately alert police as they assumed she had travelled on elsewhere without bothering to check out.
Police investigators believe Ms Novozhyonova drowned while diving in waters off the island in Koh Phangan district.
Police and volunteer divers continued searching the bay on Friday in hope of finding clues to her fate.