Family ends 2-month search for Connecticut woman who vanished in Japanese wilderness
By Ryan General
The family of a missing Connecticut woman who disappeared while hiking in the Japanese wilderness on April 10 has suspended the
Lost in the wilderness: Patricia “Pattie” Wu-Murad, a 60-year-old experienced traveler, vanished after checking out of a guest house in Osaka around 7 a.m. and setting off on a trek along the 11.2-mile path of the Kumano Kodo in the southern Kansai region. She was reported missing to local authorities after failing to arrive at a second guest house about 11 miles down the trail.
For the past eight weeks, authorities, professional searchers and volunteers have scoured the remote area near the Kumano Kodo path. The extensive effort involved rescuers rappelling into crevices, exploring bodies of water and utilizing helicopters and drones.
No progress: Japanese police have yet to classify the case as either an accident or an incident involving foul play due to a lack of evidence. Authorities are currently trying to obtain telecommunications records that could potentially offer a clue about the last known location of the missing traveler’s cell phone.
Wu-Murad’s husband, Kirk Murad, has been in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and coordinating with search efforts in Japan, expressed frustration with the lack of progress.
“There are no clues. Is she lost? Did she fall? Is she a victim of a crime?” Kirk lamented in an interview with The Messenger.
Ending the search: Wu-Murad’s daughter, Murphy Murad, wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page on Sunday that they are ending the search as the rescue team was unable to find new leads after weeks of efforts.
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. However, the reality is all search efforts have ended as of May 30 due to the underwhelming amount of evidence found.
As heartbreaking as it is to have come up empty handed, all of these comments are thanks to you. The amount of work we were able to accomplish would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our family, friends, community, and the remarkable individuals we encountered in Totsukawa.
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