The remains of a 67-year-old dead man who was suspected to be mentally challenged and went missing in September in 2017 were Tuesday found scattered in a bush close to the deceased village in Rumphi District.

Rumphi Police Station Publicist, Tupeliwe Kabwilo confirmed the incident Wednesday in an interview with Malawi News Agency.

Kabwilo identified the deceased as, Charles Luhanga of Mnyololo Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chikulamayembe in the district.

He said the deceased, who went mad in early 2017, had been wandering in the area and was last seen in September, 2017. People in the area had been searching for him since then.

“I can confirm that the deceased developed mental problems last year and had been loitering within the area until when he went missing,” Kabwilo explained.

According to Kabwilo, the remains of the deceased were found by people who went to fetch firewood in the hilly area near the village.

She further said police and medical personnel who went to site found scattered bones and clothes which were believed to be of the deceased.

“The scene was visited by police officers and medical personnel who only found the deceased’s bones and clothes. There was no damage to any of the bones and we do not suspect any foul play in relation to this death,” she said.

The state of the human remains made it difficult for the medical practitioner to conduct a postmortem to establish the cause of the death.

The deceased’s remains have since been buried.