By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Monday, June 25th, Rio police revealed that DNA testing has confirmed that a body discovered washed ashore near Mirante do Roncador, in Zona Oeste (West Zone), is the body of missing UK rapper Kenny Vulcan.
The body was found on May 5th but investigators only released the results of the DNA test yesterday. According to officials, the results were delayed due to the advanced decomposition of the body.
DNA testing had been carried out using items submitted to authorities by Vulcan’s family, including his razor, toothbrush, and underwear.
Brazililan authorities have been in contact with Vulcan’s family who reportedly are seeking further confirmation of the test results.
“We are aware of the DNA result and understand what it implies,” said Vulcan’s cousin, Rais Bona Bin Mapianda, to reporters in England. “We are in contact with the British authorities and we will get these results verified and retested independently.”
Vulcan arrived in Brazil on December 4th in the hopes of igniting his music career. He vanished on April 13th following an all-night recording session in Barra da Tijuca.
At the time, he texted his girlfriend saying that he was coming home and soon after, all his social media accounts were mysteriously deleted.
Extensive air and sea searches yielded few results. Vulcan’s backpack, containing his laptop, passport, wallet, pen drives, and headphones, was discovered by surfers off the coast of Barra da Tijuca.
The search was called off at the end of April with Rio’s missing person’s department (Delegacia de Descoberta de Paradeiros) chief, Ellen Souto, concluding that the 20-year-old Vulcan had taken his “own life by throwing himself into the sea while suffering from depression”.
Souto added that testimony from Vulcan’s Brazilian girlfriend and his father confirmed that Vulcan had been suicidal.
“His girlfriend told us this idea of taking his own life had already crossed his mind in London,” said Souto. “His father knew this and feared him coming alone to Brazil, where he could commit such an unthinkable act.