Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead hours after he was first reported missing. 

Police said on Friday that Park’s body was found around midnight near Sukjeong Gate at Mount Bugak in northern Seoul, where he was last seen alive. It is believed he committed suicide.

The police search started after the mayor’s daughter reported his disappearance at 5:17 p.m. Thursday, saying he had not been reached since he left home four or five hours earlier, reportedly after he said something she believed sounded like last words. 

Around 770 officers, six drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and nine search dogs were mobilized in the search, which concentrated on the mountain area following the confirmation that Park arrived at Waryong Park in the mountain at 10:53 a.m. Thursday. 

The 64-year-old mayor was seen leaving his nearby residence nine minutes earlier wearing a dark-colored outfit, including a hat and a backpack. 

A former Seoul City employee reportedly filed a police complaint on Wednesday accusing him of sexual harassment. Police are investigating the exact cause of his death. 

The third-term mayor from the ruling Democratic Party had been considered one of the major contenders for the 2022 presidential election. He had long worked as a human rights lawyer and a civic group leader before taking office as the mayor of the South Korean capital by winning the by-elections in 2011.