Two teenagers’ bodies recovered along Kokoda Track

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE bodies of two teenagers were recovered at Myola, Northern, along the Kokoda Track on Sunday, an official says.
Acting Northern administrator Trevor Magei said the pair most likely died of exposure after going off the track and getting lost.
“They probably died from hypothermia and were found in Myola area about 40 kilometres away from Ower’s Corner near Sogeri in Central,” he said.
“They were walking to their villages in Northern and were found by villagers.”
Magei said the area that the villagers found the bodies was not part of the main track and they believed the pair had been dead for around 11 days.
Magei said yesterday that the deceased pair left Ower’s Corner on Dec 27 with a group of youths and after three days of walking, they lost contact with the main group probably because they could not keep up with the group.
“We’re unsure if the guides or the track leaders made attempts to find them when they realised that they were missing,” he said.
The main party continued to walk until they reached Kokoda station and raised the alarm after another three days of walking.”
Magei said the bodies were found by villagers away from the main Kokoda Track.
“The site where locals found the corpses is 2,133m above sea level and prone to cold weather,” he said.
Magei identified the deceased pair as Brandon Tago and Ansernee Kaupa, who were students at the Iarowari High School in Sogeri.