Blood on the windshield and a body not found for two weeks: The mystery of Eldar Dayan

Two weeks after Eldar Dayan, 23, from Dimona, was declared missing, his remains were located this morning (Thursday) in an open area near the gas station at the entrance to Petah Tikva — about 50 meters from the place where the vehicle in which he was traveling with two of his friends was found.

The remains were also found near the convenience store where Dayan was last documented on Saturday, July 18. Following extensive examinations at the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, it was determined that there is a genetic match between the remains and Dayan.

The tragic discovery raises difficult questions regarding the conduct of the search for him. For about two weeks, his body was, as far as is known, in the area adjacent to the place where the abandoned vehicle was found — an area that should have been at the center of the search and investigation efforts.

The case was accompanied from the beginning by various assessments, unverified reports, and frequent changes in the directions of the investigation. The file on Dayan's disappearance moved between the Dimona station and the Petah Tikva station, and at a certain stage, the handling of the searches and the criminal events that preceded his disappearance was split between the Southern District and the Central District.

The Dimona station was tasked with investigating Dayan's disappearance and managing the search for him. At the same time, investigators from the Petah Tikva station checked two events that preceded the disappearance: a violent brawl in which Dayan and his friends were involved, and a suspicion of a hit-and-run accident or an attempted vehicular assault during the escape from the scene.

The abandoned vehicle and the blood on the windshield

The investigation began after citizens reported to the police about a vehicle abandoned at the gas station and three young men seen removing the license plates from it.

Police officers from the Petah Tikva station who arrived at the scene noticed that the vehicle's windshield was shattered and that there were bloodstains on it. The findings initially raised a suspicion that the vehicle was involved in hitting a person, and that Dayan — who was suspected at one stage of the investigation of being the one who drove it — had disappeared for fear of being arrested.

However, it later turned out that Dayan and his two friends had previously been in a park in the area between Hod HaSharon and Kfar Saba, where they met with young people from another group. A violent brawl broke out between the parties, and during their escape from the scene, one of the members of the other group was allegedly hit by the vehicle in which Dayan and his friends were traveling.

According to the suspicion being investigated, it was not Dayan who was driving the vehicle at the time of the impact. Investigators from the Petah Tikva station located some of the people involved in the second group, some of whom were questioned under caution and others provided testimony.

Two of Dayan's friends were arrested after the vehicle was located and were questioned on suspicion of involvement in the brawl, abandonment after an accident, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to commit a crime.

From disappearance to suspicion of murder

During the investigation, several versions arose regarding Dayan's fate. At first, the possibility was checked that he had fled of his own volition and was hiding following the brawl and the hitting of one of the young men. Later, it was even reported that he himself was wanted for questioning.

However, in the interrogation rooms, another, much more serious suspicion grew: Dayan was murdered, and the two friends who were seen with him for the last time might be involved in his death.

The police also examined the fact that the two maintained their right to silence during part of their interrogation. However, at this stage, these are only suspicions, and the circumstances of Dayan's death as well as the extent of his friends' involvement have not yet been proven.

The file was transferred — and the body was found in less than an hour

On Wednesday, at the end of a situation assessment, the commander of the Central District, Nitzav Amir Cohen, in coordination with the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, Nitzav Boaz Blat, decided to transfer the disappearance file to the responsibility of the Central District.

The decision was made after the Southern District announced that they had exhausted the search operations and the directions of investigation under their responsibility. The disappearance file, along with the investigation of the brawl and the road incident, were transferred to the handling of the Central Unit of the Sharon District.

This morning, reinforced forces went out to search in the area where Dayan was last seen. The operation involved dog handlers, drone operators, Border Police (Magav) fighters, volunteers, and Prison Service fighters.

In less than an hour from the start of the searches, a police dog handler located remains of a body in the open area, just tens of meters from the abandoned vehicle and the gas station.

The findings were collected and transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir. After about nine hours of examinations, which included an external examination, DNA samples, and imaging scans by a forensic doctor and a forensic anthropologist, a genetic match was received confirming that it was Dayan.

The state of the remains may indicate that Dayan died shortly after he was last seen at the gas station. This finding casts doubt on previous reports that he may have made contact with his father after his disappearance.

Suspicion of negligence in the searches

The location of the remains so close to the vehicle and the point where Dayan was last documented raises claims of serious negligence. The central question is how the area was not scanned in a way that led to his location during more than two weeks of searches.

The abandoned vehicle, its shattered windshield, the bloodstains, and the removal of the license plates should have, apparently, focused the search efforts in the area. Despite this, the remains were located only after the investigation was transferred to the Sharon Central Unit and renewed searches were conducted with reinforced forces.

In the police, they are expected to examine the manner in which the searches were managed, the division of responsibility between the districts, and the transfer of information between the units. At this stage, no official conclusions have been published, and therefore it is not possible to determine whether it is operational negligence — but the circumstances of the body's discovery require an in-depth examination.

Two friends suspected of murder

Even before the official confirmation was received from the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Dayan's two friends were brought to the Magistrate's Court in Petah Tikva.

Judge Zohar Dibon Segal extended their detention by seven days. Investigators from the Sharon Central Unit attributed to them in the hearing a suspicion of murder, after, according to the police, indications and additional evidence were collected at the scene and in the investigation that strengthened the suspicions against them.

At this stage, the exact circumstances of Dayan's death have not been published, and it is not clear where and when he died, what the possible motive was, and who placed his body in the area where it was found.

The investigation continues under a gag order on some of its details. At the same time, Dayan's family members received the difficult news after two weeks of uncertainty and searches for their loved one.