Baby’s body found in tour bus toilet bin

2026-02-25 - 09:13

PHITSANULOK — 25 February 2026, The body of a newborn boy was found in a rubbish bin inside the toilet of an interprovincial bus parked at a depot in Wang Thong district, police said on Wednesday. Investigators said the infant still had an umbilical cord and placenta attached and was believed to have died recently. The body was sent for autopsy at Wang Thong Hospital as police stepped up efforts to locate a woman suspected of being the child’s mother for questioning and possible legal action. Police were alerted to the discovery on 25 February 2026. Lt. Col. Sommai Rakpom, an investigator at Wang Thong Police Station, coordinated with detectives, rescue workers from the Burapha Rescue Unit and a duty doctor from Wang Thong Hospital to examine the scene. The bus, operating on the Udon Thani–Phitsanulok route and bearing Phitsanulok registration number 10-1638, was parked at a tour bus garage in Moo 3, Ban Dong Khoi, Wang Phikul subdistrict, Wang Thong district. The infant’s body was found at the bottom of a bin in the vehicle’s toilet. The 53-year-old driver, Santi Lertwongsakulchai, said the bus had travelled from Udon Thani via Loei to its final destination in Phitsanulok, picking up passengers at designated stops including Nong Bua Lamphu and Wang Saphung districts. After dropping off passengers at Phitsanulok Bus Terminal 2 and the final stop at Bus Terminal 1, the bus was parked at the depot at 18:00 on 24 February 2026. A 52-year-old bus attendant, who discovered the body, told police she boarded the parked bus on Wednesday morning to prepare it for cleaning ahead of its scheduled 11:00 departure to Udon Thani. As she removed the toilet bin to empty it, she noticed it was unusually heavy. Upon opening the lid, she found the infant’s body inside. She said she recalled a young, tall, thin woman wearing jeans who boarded the bus in Loei province and appeared unwell. The woman lay on a seat at the rear near the toilet before getting off at Phitsanulok Bus Terminal 1. Preliminary findings by police and the attending doctor suggested the boy was about seven to eight months’ gestation and physically developed. Authorities said he may have been born prematurely and died shortly after birth, or may have been stillborn, though the possibility of foul play has not been ruled out. An autopsy will determine the cause of death as police work to identify and question the child’s mother in accordance with the law.