10.07.2025 13:01
A 70-year-old man named Selim Güzel went missing while taking a bathroom break on the TEM Highway in Sakarya while traveling from Germany to Ankara. The elderly man was found exhausted in a wooded area, having attempted to cross the barbed wire at the back of the rest area, seven hours after teams began their search. The elderly man was taken to the hospital but unfortunately passed away.
At around 22:00, the Highway Gendarmerie in Sakarya noticed a parked car with German license plates BB SE 889 in the far left lane, which was closed off with barriers due to road maintenance work, during their patrol on the TEM Highway towards Ankara. Approaching the vehicle, the team encountered a woman named E.G. (65), who was sitting alone inside.
REQUESTED HELP SAYING HER HUSBAND WAS MISSING
E.G. stated that they were traveling from Germany to Ankara, and that her husband had pulled the vehicle over to the side for a toilet break and went to a rest area towards Ankara, but had not returned for over an hour, thus requesting help.
SEARCH OPERATIONS FOR THE ELDERLY MAN CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT
In response, additional gendarmerie teams were requested to the area. The gendarmerie teams conducted a detailed search in a wide area, including the rest area and its surroundings, as well as under parked vehicles. AFAD and gendarmerie commandos dispatched to the area also participated in the operations. The same area was scanned multiple times with night vision drones and tracking dogs. Considering the possibility of the woman being mistaken, searches were also conducted towards the Istanbul direction of the highway. The searches, which were expanded towards the forested area, continued throughout the night.
FOUND EXHAUSTED, TAKEN TO HOSPITAL
Selim Güzel was found around 05:30 in a wooded area where he was trying to cross into the forest by climbing over the wire fences behind the rest area. Exhausted, Selim Güzel was taken to Hendek State Hospital by health teams after the intervention.
DIED
Despite all efforts by the doctors, Güzel could not be saved. Initial findings did not indicate any suspicious circumstances in the incident, while security camera footage from the rest area was taken for examination. The exact cause of Güzel's death will be clarified after the autopsy.