Police Continue Excavation, Find Loaded Shell Near the Site

Dalseo Police Precinct in Daegu resumed the excavation in the hillside of Mt. Yaryong in Yongsan-dong on Sept. 27 where the bodies of the 5 missing boys, known as “the frog boys,” were found. A team of specialists including forensic experts at the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI) and scientists joined the investigation.

The police found an about 5cm-long loaded shell and two 1cm-long empty shells near the scene, and sent them to NISI to find out whether they are related to the death of the boys.

Families of the boys raised the question about homicide citing the shells and the clothes indicating the boys were tied together.

The police, however, explained that there used to be a shooting practice field run by the 50th Division of the Army only about 300m far from the scene. They believe either the shells ejected from the field or boys were playing with them.

The forensic expert team combed through the area using brushes and high-tech equipment centering on the site where the bodies were found. The police picked up more remains, clothes and shoes near the site on the day. They plan to send them to NISI for DNA tests, which they believe will find out the cause and time of the death.

“The boys used to visit and play around this mountain and knew the direction so well. It doesn’t make sense that they got lost here,” pointed out Kim Jae-kyu, uncle of Kim Jong-shik, one of the frog boys, demanding the police find out the cause of the death.

“We told the police that they were not that kind of boys who just leave home. But they were putting the focus of the investigation in the wrong direction, searching the unlikely places,” said Kim Hyud-do, father of Kim Young-kyu.

Meantime, the police began a separate investigation into a call made to a daily newspaper on Sept. 25, a day before the bodies were found. The paper reported that a man in his 40s called and tipped, “You will find remains of the five frog boys in Mt. Yaryong.” The police plan to trace the caller ID to identify the man the paper said gave a tip, given that he specified the location even before the remains were found.

Sung-Kyu Kim cavatina@donga.com