2 UPLB students died of drowning – police

LAGUNA, Philippines– The two students of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) who were found dead last Wednesday afternoon were victims of drowning, a medico-legal official said yesterday.

Superintendent Roy Camarillo, medico-legal chief of the Regional Crime Laboratory, said the bodies of Mark Lorenz Valdes and Kevin Lagadon, both 18, showed no signs of foul play, although they had bruises such as on the legs and arms.

“Their bruises are part of the stage of decomposition and their lungs were swollen with water,” Camarillo said.

He said the two students were already dead for two to three days before their bodies were found.

Senior Superintendent Fausto Manzanilla, Laguna police director, said Valdez, a B.S. Nutrition junior, and Lagadon, a Computer Science junior, were found dead in shallow water near a small waterfall inside the forestry compound at Mt. Makiling in Barangay Batong Malake, Los Baños town at around 2:45 p.m. last Wednesday.

Manzanilla said the bodies were already in an advanced state of decomposition when a group of hikers led by a certain Denver Noveno discovered them.

“It’s purely a drowning incident… we consider the case closed,” he said, citing the autopsy results.

Chief Superintendent James Melad, Calabarzon police director, said Lagadon was identified by his roommates through the pair of shorts he was wearing, and Valdez through his T-shirt and towel. Melad said the place where the bodies were found is a favorite destination of hikers.