A 22-year-old Jerusalem resident was found dead on Saturday near the Amirim moshav in the North. The young man was declared missing after he was last seen on Monday in Mt. Meron near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, (Kever Rashbi).
No one had been able to make contact with the man, whose name was Ephraim, since the time of his disappearance. An initial examination by police did not raise any suspicion of criminality, though it was reported that he had likely died a few days before his body was found.
Ephraim's death comes about one month after Hagai Reuven, a 12-year-old boy from Kiryat Malachi, went missing in November. He was found in Kohav HaShahar in the Binyamin region of the West Bank one day after his disappearance on Sunday, November 21, when he left home and told his parents that he was going to sleep over at a friend’s house.
Reuven's parents became concerned after he did not show up at school the next day and they were unable to reach him. He was found alive and healthy through the help of the Israel Police and a group of volunteers.