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Police suspect missing girl's body found

Despite high recovery rate, unsolved cases remain on the books

December 5th, 2007 issue

By Kimberly Hiss

Staff Writer

COURTESY PHOTO

Olesya Podlipinskaya, 18, went missing Nov. 20. Remains thought to be hers were found in Háje Nov. 23.

On Nov. 20, Olesya Podlipinskaya left her dormitory in Háje to attend classes at the University of Economics in Prague. She was seen later that afternoon by a few classmates, but never returned home. Prague Police launched a search for the 18-year-old student from Uzbekistan, and the family appealed to local media for help.

On Friday, Nov. 23, a charred body partially covered with leaves was discovered in a Háje park by a passer-by walking his dog. Although the results of a Nov. 29 autopsy report are in need of further analysis, police suspect the body to be that of Podlipinskaya.

The incident seems a surprising one in a capital known for its relatively low occurrence of such violent crimes. But its unexpected nature is a reminder that, despite the feel of urban safety, missing persons’ cases do occur.

“Searching for wanted and missing persons is by no means a marginal problem in Prague,” says police spokeswoman Eva Miklíková. This year, the department has investigated 493 missing persons’ cases, 452 of which have been solved. Profiles include runaways, abductees, victims of crime, individuals suffering from disease such as mental illness, and elderly people confused by Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

Police classify missing persons’ searches separately from those for “wanted persons” (those suspected of having committed a crime), which have numbered 4,874 so far this year.

Czech Television viewers may be aware of many missing persons’ cases through the weekly show Na stopě (On the Track), a crime program that airs Wednesday nights. According to the show’s head editor, Jiří Šlachta, one missing person segment is typically included in every program, and response from the show’s 1 million audience members is strong.

“Broadcasting information about a missing child [in particular] really causes emotive reactions of viewers,” says Šlachta, adding that he’s pleased with audience responses to the information hotline the show maintains in cooperation with Prague Police. “We’ve counted — every fourth missing person whom we air is found, which is a very satisfactory result.”

Standard procedure

Each new missing person report activates an immediate response among Prague Police.

In the event of a missing adult, a nationwide alert is issued, and a local search includes visiting the place of residence, interviewing family and friends and checking with hospitals.

When the case involves a child, elderly person or someone suffering from serious illness, those standard steps are supplemented by a more full-scale search. The investigation could involve experts from multiple departments such as climbers, police officers with dogs, divers and helicopters.

The cost of such an operation is paid for by taxes, and varies by the circumstances. As a reference, Miklíková says that one hour of operation for a police helicopter costs tens of thousands of crowns.

Unfortunately, about four out of five of those operations are without result — because the missing person is located in a wholly different area or simply returns to the home or institution from which he or she had come. But officials can’t let that outcome affect their initial approach.

“Police are obliged by law to protect the health, life and property of people,” Miklíková says. “So they have to act even if the operation does not have the desired result.”

As a case in point, Miklíková cites an incident from last October. Police spent a day in Prague 9–Letňany on what they believed to be a life-saving search for a Ukrainian man with serious injuries who was reported to be in the area. The investigation ended when police found him safely in his apartment with friends, clearly having staged a prank.

But Miklíková is careful to point out that such cases are an exception and that most missing persons investigations are based on legitimate circumstances.

Who’s out there?

In general, the cause of disappearance seems to vary with the age of the subject, according to Miklíková. Runaway cases under the age of 15, for example, typically result from school or home problems. For adults, motivations have more to do with unhappiness in love or a desire for adventure, with men often found in gambling establishments, and women usually located in clubs or discos. The disappearance of elderly persons often results from some form of dementia.

For the city’s unsolved missing persons’ investigations, however, it’s difficult to guess the motive or exact circumstances.

One such case is that of Šárka Eichlerová, an 18-year-old student who left for school in Prague 7 in January 2006. She never arrived at her classes and has not yet returned home. Despite a lead from Germany, Eichlerová, who is said to speak German and English and have an interest in fashion design, has not been located.

Another case from February is the search for Marcela Sekáčová, a 37-year-old woman who was last seen leaving Dětská street in Prague 10–Strašnice, driving a gray Renault Megane Grand Tour. Police located the car abroad, but have not yet found Sekáčová, whom they suspect to be the victim of a violent crime.

An older case, which Miklíková refers to as being “veiled in great mystery,” is that of a married couple, 27-year-old Elen Kadlecová and 26-year-old Jaroslav Kadlec, who disappeared from their cottage residence in Vinoř in October 2003. Police who entered the home reported that it appeared as though the couple had just stepped out, leaving plates of food still on the table. Officials have entertained a number of scenarios, including the possibility that the couple went off with a religious sect.

As for Podlipinskaya, in contrast with these open investigations, it seems likely that at least some closure can be reached, and that hers is one less case to remain unsolved.

— Naďa Černá contributed to this report.

Kimberly Hiss can be reached at khiss@praguepost.com

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