Missing Ex-Soldier Goes Missing Again

A former IDF soldier who went missing seven years ago – only to turn up at home after an all-points bulletin was issued when he left his unit during an exercise – is missing again. The family of 28-year-old Nadav Hyman of Kochav Michael, outside Kiryat Gat, has appealed to the public to keep an eye out for their son once again. According to his family, Hyman left home last Friday for a hike, and has not been seen since. He did not have a cell phone with him, the family said.

In 2010, then-21-year-old Hyman went missing from his IDF Matcal battle unit – one of the most advanced units in the army – triggering a nationwide search that ended when he was spotted at the entrance to his hometown. Hyman had been participating in an exercise in the nearby Haruvit Forest, which has numerous pits, caves and river channels. It was feared that the soldier had fallen into a pit or had gotten trapped in the forest, unable to extricate himself.

The IDF eventually determined that he had left the unit for personal reasons. He was booted out of the Matcal program. In the wake of that incident, the IDF began equipping soldiers with GPS devices, to enable officers to track the location of soldiers who went missing.