On Day Five, efforts persist in locating 17-year-old Ivana from Dupnitsa. She had been missing since the evening of February 22nd when her parents reported to the police in the town that she had not returned home.

There’s speculation that she may be outside the municipality’s territory. Law enforcement has reached out to neighboring areas for assistance. Currently, only Ivana’s jacket, backpack, and cellphone have been recovered. She entrusted them to her homeroom teacher on Thursday before her disappearance.

Every day, more than 200 personnel, including police officers, gendarmerie, firefighters, forestry workers, mountain rescuers, and volunteers, participate in the search efforts onsite. An estimated area of 600-700 hectares has been thoroughly covered, with certain areas revisited multiple times.

In Dupnitsa, a specialized team led by Senior Commissioner Ventsislav Grigorov, the director of the Regional Police Directorate, is actively engaged in the operation. As of yesterday, a crisis command center has been set up within the Municipality.

It turned out that the profile picture of the missing student on her Facebook profile had been changed, and she was not supposed to have a phone with her. Speculations have been made that it could be herself, someone with her, a close acquaintance, her parents, or even the police.

“Another tense day is ahead. The search continues. Yesterday there was a crisis headquarters, and representatives of the State Agency for Child Protection participated. The police should talk about who changed the photo of Ivana”, commented the mayor of Dupnitsa Parvan Dangov.