Udon Thani — Two hundred soldiers and police officers will be mobilised to search the "graveyard of the living", an area of forest where piles of burnt human bones were found in Ban Phue district.
The site, located about 400 metres off a gravel road in Udon Thani's tambon Nong Waeng, was discovered after the bushes covering the piles of human bones were burned in a recent wildfire.
Udon Thani police chief Pol Maj Gen Peerapong Wongsaman said 50 police officers together with 150 military officers from Prachak Silapakhom Military Camp will scour the area today in search of similar sites and to collect more evidence.
Police have so far identified 16 spots where the bodies of suspected murder victims appear to have been burned on piles of rubber tyres.
Local police have confirmed the site was where the charred remains of Bung-orn Thong-on, 57, an alleged predatory lender in the area, was found in June 2014. Pol Maj Gen Peerapong said Bung-orn's killer has not been identified, as witnesses have been reluctant to speak with police due to fear of reprisals.
According to a police source, the discovery of the site may shed light on several unsolved missing persons cases.
One case involves Kularp Insri, 48, who went missing from a police flat in the district on Nov 17, 2009.
A resident who asked not to be named said the site has been known by locals as a "graveyard of the living" for about 10 years. The resident said many people had been taken to the site to be killed and cremated.
