Father Yohanes Marthinianus Rada. (Photo supplied)
Mystery surrounds the fate of an Indonesian Carmelite priest who went missing last month after going bathing in the sea at a beach on Flores Island.
Father Yohanes Marthinianus Rada, 32, was reported missing on Dec 19 after going for a swim at Wai Ri’i beach, in Maumere, in East Nusa Tenggara’s Sikka district.
Carmelite Father John Djawa said Father Rada told a seminarian at the convent where he was based that he was going swimming and that he had not been seen since.
Police later found the priest's clothing and shoes on the beach.
A wider search for the priest was called off on Dec. 27, with police assuming he had died after being swept out to sea.
One of his relatives told ucanews.com on Jan. 4 that the family has asked police to look at other possible causes of the priest's disappearance.
"Since he was not found in the sea, there is possibility that he did not drown,” she said, asking not to be named.
Father Rada was ordained a priest in 2013 and had been serving as a treasurer for his Carmelite congregation in eastern Indonesia.