Missing for days

“Levi’s world collapsed with dad’s death”

Detection dogs and sniffer dogs were deployed for days in the search for the 22-year-old.(Bild: Samariterbund Kärnten)

The 22-year-old autistic Levi Melcher had been reported missing since December 16. While emergency services had already combed half of Villach, the family continued to hope for a miracle. Now it is a sad certainty: Levi is dead.

Major operation in Villach. A body was found in the waters of the Drau in the city center on Thursday. The police confirmed to the "Krone" that it was Levi Melcher, who had been missing for several days. The cause and time of death have yet to be determined.

The sudden death of his father threw Levi Melcher's world completely off balance. The 22-year-old autistic man, who had lived with his father in an apartment in Villach's Gerbergasse, had found the body of the man from Villach. "Levi's world collapsed as a result", explained Wilfried Amann, the 22-year-old's stepfather, during the search operation. Due to his illness, the disabled man had hardly had any social contact and lived in isolation with his father in the apartment. "They left the house once every six weeks or so. Then they came to me at work to pick up presents or go shopping for clothes," Amann told the "Krone" at the time.

Family hopes for a miracle
And after the 22-year-old discovered his father's body, he probably left the apartment in a hurry. Last Monday evening, a neighbor discovered the open apartment door and immediately called the emergency services. "Of course, we immediately took part in the search," Franz Blatnik from the Samaritans' rescue dog team told the "Krone" newspaper.

The search became increasingly difficult
Although the specially trained dogs of the Samariterbund rescue dog team had been able to pick up a scent of Levi, the emergency services were at their wit's end, because "if there are no further clues, then we can't continue the search," explains Blatnik, who had been on constant duty with his colleagues. The cold had also taken its toll on the existing traces.