Nepal police are on the hunt for the body of Dahlia Yehia, 25, who was reportedly beaten to death by her landlord for money more than a month ago.
Yehia, a teacher from Austin, Texas, arrived in Pokhara, a city famed for its lakeside views of mountains, Aug. 4 to help victims of the earthquakes that devastated the Himalayan mountains earlier this year, but was murdered three days later and dumped into the Seti River, according to the Los Angeles Times.
On Sept. 2, police arrested Narayan Paudel, 30, a local teacher who was hosting Yehia during her stay. He allegedly confessed the next day and described how he beat Yehia to death with a hammer before throwing her into the river, reported the Guardian. Police later found blood-soaked clothes and ropes they believe were used to tie Yehia's body.
"We are searching for the body for the past five days," said police superintendent Hari Bahadur Pal, adding that the search only began after the U.S. embassy in Nepal informed police of the incident.
Police have been using ropes to climb into the waters at the bottom of the rocky gorge where the body was allegedly thrown, said Pal, according to Reuters.
Paudel jumped out of a window at the police station after being detained and is currently being treated for a broken leg.
Police have yet to charge Paudel for the murder and, even though they seek to charge him with a life sentence, authorities need to recover the body first.
