29-Year-Old Poker Pro Johannes Strassmann Found Dead in Ljubljana
After receiving the results of a DNA test, Slovenian police confirmed that the body found in the river Ljubljianica on Friday is the one of German poker player Johannes Strassmann.
Strassmann, who was in Slovenia to meet with some local high-stakes players, was reported missing on Saturday, June 21, when he disappeared from Ljubljana's old town.
Since then, the local police had tried their best to find him, carrying out numerous operations across the whole country involving a large number of agents, helicopters, and search dogs.
On Friday morning, police found a body on the banks of the Ljublianica River in Ljubljana and performed a DNA test on it as the body was reported to be in too poor of a condition to proceed with an immediate identification.
Twenty-four hours later the test results came in, and authorities confirmed to PokerNews that the body was the one of 29-year-old Johannes Strassmann.
Slovenian police officer Vinko Stojnsek confirmed the identity match. "It is very sad to say that, but it is true," Stojnsek told PokerNews. "The body we have found on Friday is of Johannes Strassmann."
Update: 10:30 a.m.
Here is the full statement issued by the Slovenian police about Strassmann's case:
On June 22, 2014, Police directorate Ljubljana got the report about a missing person, a 29-year-old German citizen. The German citizen had been missing since 10 p.m. on June 21, 2014.
Gornji trg [street] in Ljubljana was the last location where the 29-year-old German citizen had been seen. The Slovenian police started to investigate immediately.
During the investigation, the police officers checked several different locations in Ljubljana (hospitals, hotels, abandoned buildings, Ljubljanica River...) with a help of a helicopter, police dogs, and police boat. At the same time, we promptly checked all the information gathered from our citizens.
A male body was discovered yesterday (Friday) morning in the Ljubljanica River.
National Forensic Laboratory has identified (by DNA test) the man who was found dead in the Ljubljanica River as a 29-year-old German citizen who had been missing.
The criminal police investigators excluded a violent criminal offence. The laboratory tests of bodily fluids are still ongoing.
We'll continue to follow this story as it develops. Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
