Reward up for info on mountain trekker missing in Bukidnon

Alkharj Gomez Zamayla, 31, a resident of Jasaan, Misamis Oriental and who works in Valencia City, Bukidnon, was reported missing after he was last seen on June 12 while climbing Mt. Kalatungan, the fifth-highest mountain in the Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — The family of a trekker who went missing in Bukidnon province last month has put up a cash reward for anyone who can help locate him.

This, as authorities had terminated search and rescue operations for Alkharj Gomez Zamayla, 31, a safety officer who got lost while trekking within the Mt. Kalatungan range.

Article continues after this advertisement

In a Facebook post, Zamayla’s sister, Shols Zamayla-Biasca, said their family refuses to give up hope, believing his brother is still alive somewhere within the 35,812-hectare Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park, which straddles the towns of Pangantucan, Talakag, and Maramag.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

READ: Authorities end 12-day search for missing trekker in Bukidnon

Zamayla-Biasca offered a cash reward to anyone who can provide information on the whereabouts of Alkharj, who works as an industrial safety officer for a top firm in Valencia City, Bukidnon.

“Our family is absolutely not giving up on him, and we desperately need your help and your eyes on the ground to bring him home,” Zamayla-Biasca said.

Zamayla went missing last June 12 after he got separated from a group of mountaineers while on the way to Mt. Kalatungan.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Search ramps up for missing hiker on Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon

Earlier, Emelia Guina, a village councilor of Barangay Portulin in Pangantucan town, said they believed Zamayla was just “lost in the vastness of the mountain.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Guina said the nature of the forests in Mt. Kalatungan with its damp “fairytale-like environment” covered in dense moss, orchids and ferns can baffle even the most experienced mountaineers.

Guina said Zamayla joined scores of hikers for the “Freedom Climb” organized by a tour operator in Pagantucan town on June 12. /cb

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.