Went on military leave, has been missing for 19 years: Family offers reward

While serving in the Foça district of İzmir, 22-year-old Metin Karslıoğlu, who had taken a medical leave of absence, went missing on May 16, 2007, in his hometown of İzmit, Kocaeli. Since that day, his family has not found a single trace of the young man. Following Karslıoğlu's disappearance, both police and military authorities launched a large-scale search. Despite the efforts, no clues were obtained other than the fact that his mobile phone was turned off on the date he went missing and was never turned on again. While photos of Metin Karslıoğlu were distributed via flyers in many cities, all tips received remained inconclusive.

The family had set the reward for information leading to his safe return at 100,000 TL years ago. Wishing to keep hope alive over time, the family has increased this amount to $100,000.

VOICE RECORDING IN THE FILE

A voice recording brought to the family by someone who contacted them about two years ago has emerged as a new development in the case. While it is alleged that a person in the recording says, "I killed him," this voice recording was handed over to the Kocaeli Provincial Police Department's Homicide Bureau. Following this, both the family and their close circle state that the possibility of Metin Karslıoğlu having been a victim of murder has strengthened.

Metin Karslıoğlu's older brother, Fatih Karslıoğlu, stated that his brother was of sound mind and said, "It has been 19 years since my brother went missing. We believe my brother was a victim of murder. 2-3 years ago, a voice recording came to the Kocaeli Provincial Police Homicide Bureau. In these recordings, someone literally says 'I killed him.' The person's name is mentioned in the recordings. There has been no feedback from the police so far. We assume the incident is being investigated in more detail," he said.

FAMILY'S CALL FOR JUSTICE

Fatih Karslıoğlu explained that they have spent years trying to find his brother and have gone everywhere to do what they could. "At that time, the police examined phone records and took statements. We didn't get any results for years. Everyone said things like, 'he came, we sat down, we drank tea.' I was in İzmit Prison. I was detained for a crime. I heard about it from the local newspaper. When the missing person reports appeared in the local newspaper, I thought my brother hadn't gone home and had gone somewhere without telling anyone before something bad happened. They said he was in Antalya, we went to Antalya. They said he was here, we went there. We went everywhere. We hung up pictures, we did work. We couldn't find a result. We had set a reward of 100,000 TL in the money of that time. Now we are offering a $100,000 reward to whoever reveals his killer," he stated.

The family states that the steps taken by Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek toward reopening cold cases have given them a glimmer of hope. Fatih Karslıoğlu said, "Our Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek opening cold cases has brought some relief to our hearts. We want all missing people to be found. Let our brother be found. Let all cold cases be solved. Let the missing people be at peace. Those who die are mourned for a day, those who are missing are mourned every day. We want the perpetrators of this incident to be punished," he said.

News Source: 12punto