Israeli soldier Guy Hever has been missing in action since 1997. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli Navy divers have started searching water reservoirs in the Golan Heights in a renewed effort to find Cpl. Guy Hever, an IDF soldier who went missing nearly two decades ago.

One water reservoir has been searched thus far, with no results, the IDF said. Additional reservoirs may be checked as well. Searches of open land areas in the Golan over the years have turned up no evidence of Hever’s fate.

The last confirmed sighting of Hever took place on Aug. 17, 1997, at his base in the Golan. Hever, then 20, later left the base carrying his Galil rifle, dog tag, and ID card. There has been no contact with him since. One Golan resident believes she saw Hever at the Katzabia junction in the Golan a few hours after he left his base.

In addition to extensive searches of the Golan, Israel also engaged in diplomatic efforts to determine whether Hever somehow ended up in Syria.

Hever is one of five known missing Israeli soldiers. The other four are Zechariah Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz, and Ron Arad.