PHETCHABURI: The body of a missing Englishman was found in a beachfront forest in Cha-am district on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after he disappeared while on holiday with his family.
He was identified as Martin Wood, 48, from Exeter.
The body was found by a local resident, who reported the discovery to police about 9.30am. He was lying in a forest about 200 metres from Cha-am beach.
Wood was wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a pair of sneakers and is thought to have been dead for more than two weeks.
The man's identity was confirmed by Daorung Inpotha, 40, a housekeeper at a hotel two kilometres away where the man stayed with his family.
The cause of death was not known. The body was sent to King Mongkut Memorial Hospital in the province for a post-mortem examination.
There were no signs of physical violence, Pol Lt Assawit Chaisri, duty officer at Cha-am police station said. Police found 2,490 baht with his body.
Wood and his family arrived at Cha-am beach on holiday last month and checked in at a hotel he had regularly stayed at for four years. He reportedly had a chronic health problem and regularly took medicine.
He vanished after being seen by staff leaving the hotel about 5am on Dec 30. A search failed to locate him.
The family then lodged a missing person report with local police, and offered a cash reward of 10,000 baht for information of his whereabouts. They had no idea why he was missing.
Investigators said footage from CCTV cameras nearby would be examined to see who the man was with on the day he went missing.