On Thursday evening, a dead person was found in the river at Skotfoss in Skien municipality. The police believe the deceased is a man in his 30s, who has been missing for almost a week.
At 5.30pm on Saturday evening, the police were notified that a man with blood on his face was walking around the center of Skotfoss. In addition, a woman was observed with a hammer in her hand.
The police rushed to the scene with large resources and searched for the man, without success. The woman, who is supposed to be the man’s girlfriend, was arrested a short time later – with the hammer in her hand. She was later released.
In the last week, there have been many rumors about what may have happened, which have, among other things, been reproduced in the local media. The police react to that.
Attempted murder: – Probably planned
– Don’t buy into rumours
Police inspector in the South-East police district, Odd Skei Kostveit, tells Dagbladet that the deceased was found without visible injuries.
– Preliminary examinations of the body indicate that he has not been subjected to violence. There is also nothing about the circumstances surrounding the find to indicate that he has been exposed to something criminal, says Kostveit and adds that the police are still waiting for the preliminary autopsy report.
The police are aware that there are many rumors about the incident. The rumors are that he should have been exposed to specific criminal acts, before he was then dumped in the water.
– There is nothing to indicate that there is any truth to these rumours, says Kostveit.
He continues:
– It is quite common for a number of rumors to arise in such cases. For the police it can be a challenge, and we have seen in the past that it is often also experienced as an additional burden for relatives. It is important that relatives receive as much correct information as possible, and it is regrettable that they have to deal with such rumours.
POLICE INSPECTOR: Odd Skei Kostveit. Photo: Emilie Holtet / NTB
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– Contact the police
The police assume that the bloody man in the center of Skotfoss on Saturday afternoon is the man who has now been found dead.
– We are now working to find out where he has moved after the last observation at 5.30pm. Several police patrols searched for the man in the center of Skotfoss on Saturday evening, and the police are now working to compile the information on which areas were covered, says the police inspector.
In addition, the police have collected video material from the area.
– We ask that private individuals who have video recordings from the city center contact the police. There may be private cameras we don’t know about, but which can help us map his movements, says Kostveit.
Saying goodbye: “Never forget you”
Different hypotheses
On Wednesday, crime technicians carried out investigations in the block where the man stayed on Saturday evening.
– The reason was that we could not rule out that he was in the building or that something had happened in one of the apartments. The police’s forensic technicians have therefore been on the scene, but there is nothing to indicate this, says Kostveit.
– What hypotheses do you work from?
– In such cases, we always work on the basis of four different hypotheses. It is that something criminal has happened, that the person concerned has disappeared of their own free will, committed suicide and that an accident has occurred. It is too early to rule out any of these, but as of now the hypotheses of suicide or accident are strongest.
There are no suspects or charges in the case. In recent days, a number of volunteers, in addition to Rescue Dogs in Action (RIA), have participated in the search for the man. It was just before 7pm that one of the volunteers discovered the man in the water.
