Background
Zeynep Yıldırım had been sought as missing in Istanbul since 12 September 2022. According to press reports, she left a hospital without permission, where she had been taken for treatment, and then disappeared. The missing-person file went unresolved for years.
She was a minor at the time she disappeared, so details about her family and private life are deliberately left out.
The file is reopened
In 2026 the file was reviewed again. Press reports say phone records showed that the last person she was in contact with was an individual referred to by the initials F.D., and that the last phone signal pointed to his home in Esenyurt. F.D. was reported to have been jailed in 2024 over a different killing.
On 1 September 2026, simultaneous raids were carried out at five addresses in Istanbul and Sinop, and six people were detained.
The body is found and the legal process
Following statements from those in custody, a body buried in an empty lot in Esenyurt, where a building had once stood, was found. Forensic examination confirmed it to be Zeynep Yıldırım. Investigators believe she died between the first days of October 2022 and 10 October 2022.
Arrest orders were issued for suspects in the file, but the proceedings are ongoing and there is no final verdict. No one is therefore described as convicted.
Where it stands today
Zeynep's fate became known after four years. The case shows how decisive phone data and links to other files can be in missing-person investigations. For her family the long wait has ended, while the judicial process continues.