Girl, 17, told mates she was meeting an 'older foreigner' before she suddenly vanished without a trace in Thai sin city - weeks after an Aussie truckie allegedly murdered a teen and hid her body in a suitcase

By JONICA BRAY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:25, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 00:25, 15 July 2026 Nong Tong, 17, vanished on Saturday after telling friends she was meeting a man at Central Pattaya shopping mall to watch a movie. Those closest to the teenager are now desperately trying to piece together her last known movements and identify the mystery man she was due to meet. 'We don't know who she was meeting or where he was from,' Pinanong Lansettha told Daily Mail. 'I think she met him online through an app.' After reporting her disappearance to police, her loved ones launched a desperate social media appeal, urging anyone with information to come forward. 'I'm asking for your help in finding my younger sister,' Ms Lansettha wrote. 'If any friends or family see her, please contact me. My sister has been missing for three days and I haven't been able to contact her.  Nong Tong, 17, vanished on Saturday after telling friends she was meeting a man at Central Pattaya shopping mall to watch a movie Those closest to the teenager are now desperately trying to piece together her last known movements and identify the mystery man she was due to meet Pinanong Lansettha has reported Nong Tong, 17, missing after she vanished on Saturday 'None of her close friends or family have been able to reach her or see her. I'm very worried about her. Please help keep an eye out for her.' Friends quickly flooded the comments section, saying the disappearance was completely out of character. 'If anyone has seen her anywhere please report, she has disappeared strangely and I'm worried,' one wrote. 'She is not online and she normally talks to me every day,' another added. One local said they saw the teenager socialising with foreigners at the Stone House pub around the time she vanished. 'I saw her hanging out with foreigners at the pub, I remember because our tables were next to each other,' she said.  Ms Lansettha said the teenager, who is unable to work in one of the many bars in the city's nightlife district due to her age, had gone to meet the man before she disappeared. 'She doesn't work in the bars or the street, she is freelance and went to meet an older foreigner and I can't contact her since then.' Her friends believe she went the mystery man at Pattaya Central Mall One local said they saw the teenager socialising with foreigners at the Stone House pub around the time she vanished Australian truck driver Simon Carman was charged last month over the death of another teenager and is currently behind bars at Pattaya Remand Prison  The disappearance echoes the death of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla, whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase beside railway tracks in Pattaya last month. Australian truck driver Simon Carman, 46, has been charged over her death and is currently behind bars at Pattaya Remand Prison.  Carman allegedly met Ms Donhomla on the street before taking her back to his condo, where he is alleged to have strangled her and folded her body into a holdall.  Carman denies murdering the girl and claims he acted in self-defence after she pulled a knife on him demanding money.  CCTV showed Carman riding a scooter the following evening with a suitcase strapped to the back.  Police arrested him at Bangkok airport with a Jetstar boarding pass and allege he was fleeing the country on a flight to Perth.  But he insisted he was simply returning to Australia to collect a replacement bank card and planned to return to Thailand within days to 'sort it all out'.  Like Ms Donhomla, Ms Tong travelled to Pattaya from a rural province in search of work.  Carman met Miss Donhomla on the street before taking her back to his condo where he allegedly strangled her before folding her body into the holdall. Carman allegedly hid Ms Donhomla's body in a suitcase  Friends raised the alarm in both cases after the young women failed to return home and suddenly stopped responding to calls and messages. Both teenagers were employed independently rather than through one of the city's bars, where strict age checks make it difficult for underage girls to find work.  While prostitution remains technically illegal in Thailand, the industry is widely tolerated and openly operates in many of Pattaya's nightlife precincts, where thousands of women earn a living by meeting foreign tourists.