A primary school principal and a female school teacher from Thinbawhla village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township went missing at around 1 p.m. on June 16 and the pair has not been found yet.

The two have been identified as U Bo Win, headmaster of the primary school, and Daw Ohnmar Kyaw, a female school teacher.

They went missing near Kyaukchaung village about seven miles from Thinbawhla village when, along with the village administrator, they went to the township education officer’s office in Maungdaw, said U Sein Tun, the village administrator.

“Six people on three motorbikes went to Maungdaw but only four people in two motorbikes arrived at Yanaungmyin village’s junction. They entered Thayargon village to greet a teacher. A teacher phoned the missing pair, but they could not be reached,” he added.

“We returned home as we couldn’t phone them. We, together with the villagers, searched for the missing pair and discovered a motorbike they rode in a bush near Kyunpauk Hsinoh village. We continue to search for them,” the village administrator said.

The two educators are currently being searched for by locals and members of the Myanmar military, according to locals.

U Maung Maung Chay, the administrator of Ward No. 1 in Taungpyo Letwe town, said that locals in the area also felt insecure after the incident.

“Locals nearby are worried about their safety. We daren’t go to Maungdaw through this route. We have to attend a meeting in Maungdaw monthly. Now no one would dare go on a busy road following the incident,” the ward administrator added.

U Nay Oo, deputy commissioner of Maungdaw District, and the administrator of Maungdaw Township were not available for comment.