Elderly Woman Found Safe After Overnight Forest Ordeal in Buriram
A 79‑year‑old woman from Buriram got lost while picking mushrooms with relatives in a forest near the Thai‑Cambodian border and spent the night alone. She described seeing a soft white light and sensing the presence of deceased relatives before being found by a buffalo herder the next morning. Relatives performed a traditional wrist‑tying ceremony to welcome her back, though one relative suffered a motorcycle accident during the search.
Ya Hongok said she went mushroom picking with four relatives on the afternoon of October 15 but fell behind because of her age and lost sight of them while bending to pick mushrooms. She tried to call out but received no answer, wandering confused as the forest looked alike until darkness fell. With no food or supplies, she sat kneeling, fearing wild elephants but not ghosts, and prayed to survive. During the night she saw a soft white light like many flowers above her head that she could not touch, which she believed was forest spirits protecting her. At dawn she walked out and met a buffalo herder who helped her. Relatives described seeing the faces of deceased kin appear intermittently, feeling uneasy, and one relative, Nuanchan, recounted seeing her deceased nephew’s face repeatedly before she later crashed her motorcycle while searching again, sustaining injuries. After Ya Hongok was found safe, relatives felt relieved but also speculated about mystical substitution, though they stressed it was only personal belief.
