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    Thursday, May 02, 2024

    Search efforts for Conn. woman missing in Japan have ended, family says

    Search efforts for a Storrs woman who was reported missing in Japan nearly two months ago have ended, her daughter wrote on the family's GoFundMe page Sunday.

    Murphy Murad, the daughter of Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, said she met with search-and-rescue specialists from the U.S. last week and was unable to find new leads after a five-day search.

    "If we had the time, resources and financial capacity to search every trail in the area with as much depth and precision as we did this one, we would," she wrote in a Sunday post. "However, the reality is all search efforts have ended as of May 30 due to the underwhelming amount of evidence found."

    Patricia Wu-Murad vanished on April 10 while hiking along the Kohechi route of the Kumano Kodō trail, a millennium-old route that follows an ancient pilgrimage path across Japan's rugged Kii Peninsula. The 60-year-old was last seen checking out of a guest house in Osaka around 7 a.m. and was reported missing to local authorities after failing to arrive at a second guest house about 11 miles down the trail, according to the GoFundMe page.

    Family members have raised over $200,000 through GoFundMe and have worked with several rescue teams from Japan and the U.S., including local search-and-rescue teams, Mountain Works, in what locals say is "the largest police search for a missing person case in the region," Murad said. Family members have been told there is no evidence Patricia was ever on the trail and still consider it a possibility that she's the victim of a crime.

    In May, a solo female hiker told the family that 10 days after Patricia's appearance, a man near one of the Kumano Kodo trails asked if she would go home with him to help him practice his English. The Gojo police have ruled the man not suspicious, Murad said, as he wasn't targeting female hikers, has a confirmed alibi and was relatively far from the village where Patricia disappeared.

    Family members also spoke to the trail runners who were on the Kohechi route that day and did not receive any information on Patricia's whereabouts, Murad said. They also inquired about nearby construction along the Kohecki trail and found there was "no known activity" that day, she said.

    "At this point, the police are unable to provide any leads regarding criminal behavior, but will provide the family with biweekly reports," she said.

    Officials of telecommunication companies also said they are unable to track Patricia's E-sim because it is not a Japanese number, Murad said.

    "Both my family and the prefectural police have countered asking if the telecommunication companies are unable to track any foreign SIM cards which is highly unlikely and incredibly problematic. We are still pushing for this information through the National Police and the FBI," she said.

    Family members will no longer accept GoFundMe donations after June 10, and additional funds will be set aside in case new information arises. Members of Mountain Works have agreed to volunteer in the case of new leads.

    Murad ended the post by thanking all the donors, supporters, volunteers, local police officers and friends in Totsukawa. She also thanked her mom.

    "All of these people came together because of the profound influence you have had on our family and the impact you have had on so many different people around the world," she said. "In a time of chaos, thank you for re-igniting everyone's faith in humanity. Thank you for instilling in us the strength and resilience to keep moving forward each and every day without you by our side. Thank you for bringing us together with such incredible people, you have shown us the true essence of why you love these trips so much."

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