ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines – Police and local officials recovered the headless remains of an abducted school principal who was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu, according to officials.
Patikul Mayor Kabir Hayudini who led the regular search of the remains of Gabriel Cañizares reported the body of the victim was recovered in a bushy uphill village of Barangay Maligay about 2:45p.m yesterday.
He said the recovery came after villagers started to sense the foul smell of the decomposing remains that later turned out to belong to Cañizares.
Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, Task Force Comet chief confirmed the recovery but declined to give details as the effort was made possible by the police and the local crisis management committee headed by Hayudini.
The police said that the headless body of the victim was already in an advance state of decomposition when it was recovered in a shallow grave.
The remains was immediately secured and turned over to the victim’s family for burial.
The family buried Cañizares’ severed head last Thursday amid grief and anxiety after it failed to locate the body for four days since the decapitated head was recovered Monday dawn near a gas station in Jolo.