Missing actor Jefferson Machado found dead

Actor Jefferson Machado, who went missing nearly four months ago, has been found dead and buried in a wooden trunk underground.

The 44-year-old was a soap actor who starred in Brazilian show Reis, and also worked in production and set design. He was last seen on January 27 and was officially declared missing.

Machado's mother, Maria das Dores, 73, told local press she had last spoken to him on January 29.

In his last conversation with mother, the actor had told her that he's staying at a friend's home while interviewing for a job.

Maria had become worried when she received text messages littered with spelling errors stating that he had dropped his phone in the toilet and was thus unable to video call her. 

Machado was finally found on Monday (May 22) when cops searched an outhouse at a property in Rio and discovered his body tied up and stuffed inside a wooden trunk buried 6.5ft under the floor of the structure.

News of Jefferson's death was announced by a friend of his on Instagram, with Cintia Hilsendeger writing: "It is with great sadness we report that Jeff was found on 05/22/2023 lifeless.