Two skeletons in central Vietnam forest confirmed as father and son

The skeletons belong to Hoang Quoc Bao, 37, and his son, 11. They are both residents in Buon Ma Thuot Town of Gia Lai, police said Monday.

The DNA test results matched what a local woman had claimed. The 57-year-old woman, who currently lives in southern Dong Nai Province, came to the police on Aug. 28 and claimed the remains to be of her son and grandson.

His family said after Bao and his wife split years ago, he showed signs of depression and usually took his son around, living a nomadic life.

Police said the cause of their deaths has yet to be identified as their flesh and organs have decomposed.

Locals in Gia Lai’s Kbang District found two human skeletons in a forest on Aug. 22.

One of them was on a hammock, and the other on the ground next to it, both in the open. There was a raincoat hanging nearby.

Authorities also found a helmet, a cap and a bag containing medicine, fish hooks, lighters, and food.

The site where the remains were found is deep within the forest on a slope and near a stream. It is far away from human settlements and conceivably in a place where no one passes through.

The location where the skeletons were found is a remote site with no cellphone signal, about 20 kilometers from the closet residential area.