05.05.2025 14:35
Seventy-year-old Mevlüt Kandemir, who went mushroom picking in Zeytinköy Plateau in Denizli, was reported missing by his friends after they could not reach him. Six days later, teams found Kandemir's lifeless body on a steep path.
A 70-year-old mountaineer, who left his home in Denizli to collect mushrooms, was found dead on the mountain's peak six days later. The lifeless body of the elderly mountaineer was retrieved with the help of search and rescue teams using a military helicopter from the cliff he fell into.
Mevlüt Kandemir, a 70-year-old resident of Zeytinköy neighborhood in Pamukkale district, left his home on the morning of Tuesday, April 29, to go mushroom picking with two friends towards the Zeytinköy Plateau Karataş area. Mevlüt Kandemir, who loved hiking and had previously gone mushroom picking in the same area multiple times, separated from his friends after a while and continued his way towards the summit. His friends, who could not hear from the elderly mountaineer after that time, filed a missing person report the next day.
STEAP PATH FOUND INACTIVE
Following the missing person report, a search operation was initiated for Mevlüt Kandemir. In the six-day-long efforts conducted by AFAD, the Mountain Search and Rescue Association (DAK), and SAR teams, the forested areas of Zeytinköy Plateau, Bağbaşı Plateau, Ornaz Valley, and İsrafil Stream were thoroughly searched with the support of tracking dogs. As a result of the search efforts that entered the sixth day by AFAD, DAK, and SAR teams, the missing mountaineer Mevlüt Kandemir was found lying motionless on a steep path leading to Ornaz Valley. Checks by the teams confirmed that Kandemir had passed away.
AIR SUPPORT REQUESTED
Due to the impossibility of retrieving the lifeless body of the elderly mountaineer from the cliff he fell into, air support was requested. The deceased, taken by the gendarmerie helicopter dispatched to the area, was brought to the Denizli General Directorate of Forestry helicopter pad. Kandemir's body was sent to the forensic medicine institution's morgue to determine the cause of death. An investigation into the incident has been initiated.