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View all search resultsOne hostage escapes, another dies a month after OPM abducted nine in Central Papua
According to authorities the two hostages had fled their captors and travelled through the forest for about 20 days without food or water. Demerina was found in a weakened condition while Yosina was found dead due to starvation.
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![A police tape reads “Crime scene [...]“ in this undated illustration of a crime scene.](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2026/09/14/2026_09_14_179717_1789368331._large.jpg)
A police tape reads “Crime scene [...]“ in this undated illustration of a crime scene. (Shutterstock/Prath)
O
ne of nine women and children abducted by Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebels in Central Papua province during Independence Day last month has escaped her captors, while another died while trying to flee, police said.
Sr. Comr. Yusuf Sutejo, a spokesperson for the Cartenz Peace Operations Task Force, said the survivor, identified as Demerina Uamang, 23, was found by local residents on Sept. 7 in a forested area of Agimuga district in Mimika regency.
“Initially, the residents did not know who the victim was. We then conducted an investigation and confirmed that she was one of the victims abducted on Independence Day,” Yusuf said on Monday.
According to Yusuf, Demerina was found alongside the body of 18-year-old Yosina Stenawatme, who had died of starvation.
The two had fled their captors and travelled through the forest for about 20 days without food or water. Demerina was found in a weakened condition and given initial treatment by residents of Bela village in Alama district.
Read also: Police hunt OPM rebels after civil servants murdered in Papua Highlands
On Monday police evacuated her from the village and took her to Bhayangkara Hospital in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, for medical examinations and treatment, Yusuf said.
![A police tape reads “Crime scene [...]“ in this undated illustration of a crime scene.](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2026/09/14/2026_09_14_179717_1789368331._medium.jpg)
