A number of you have expressed concerns, hopes and positive thoughts after my initial blog post regarding Patricia’s disappearance as well as wondering what the current status of the search is.
Murphy Murad...Patricia’s 27 year old daughter has posted a comprehensive update which is included below. It answers a number of questions. I have chosen not to include the short video clip regarding the Japanese Camino Documentary pending word from the Documentary team. The English translation of the two Local Paper articles is off in places however the general ideas are there. Bottom line at this point is that Patricia has not been found...no clues...simply vanished.
It has now been 3 weeks since Patricia walked out the door of a guesthouse on the Kohechi trail at 7am JST on April 10th. The effort coordinated by Patricia’s family...a testament to how deeply they care about Patricia is simply incredible...countless volunteers...professional search and rescue teams...extensive social/print media coverage…gofundme $ raising for the significant incurred search expenses etc.
The last known picture of Patricia was taken at guesthouse where she stayed April 9th
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| Guesthouse owner, fellow walker, Patricia |
One meets many people while walking Camino paths...many are a quick “Hola Buen Camino”, some are more memorable and a few become life long friends. Patricia was certainly memorable and a potential life long friend...admired her determination, sense of adventure, positive nature.
However something else was special...my family has many times mentioned that I have a certain tell or look when I am about...in their words...to say something “stupid or silly”...I prefer “funny or witty”. Patricia caught on early...here is how I described it to a close family member of Patricia's in a recent exchange.
The family member replied "I can hear her say those things with her laugh too... Thanks for sharing. It's getting harder to stay positive, but we aren't giving up just yet."
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Nara police have received support from neighbouring prefectures to increase the amount of resources available to our case. They have also brought in officers from mountainous regions who specialize in mountain rescue to help with their planning and logistics. The police have been out everyday since April 18th.
Mountain Works has been out everyday since April 16 (except for April 28 but they have resumed again April 29). In the most recent days, they have brought two hunting dogs out with them as they search the trails. The dogs are trained to detect human remains, a fate we hope is out of the question but have to explore.
From April 22-April 26, we had 21 volunteers from the US, specifically trained in search and rescue, helping cover more ground. Their expertise and knowledge was quickly recognized by the local police and private team which resulted in mutual respect between all parties. The collaboration between these three organizations allowed us to cover a large area in a small amount of time. My dad, Uncle, brother, and local volunteers also participated in the search by walking adjacent trails to the Kumano Kodo that my mother may have strayed onto.
Despite hundreds of hours and miles of ground covered, we still haven't found a single piece of evidence that Pattie was ever on this part of the trail.
We appreciate the effort of everyone involved and are grateful for the number of volunteers who have offered to help but my family needs everyone’s continued support. As long as we have your support the search can and will continue.
Investigation
There is an open investigation regarding the disappearance of Pattie. The underwhelming amount of evidence found after 19 days of SAR efforts naturally leads to contemplating other possible outcomes. I would like to address some common questions we’ve received and provide other details that I believe are important to this case.
-CCTV Footage: There are 3 cameras along the part of the trail where Pattie presumably went missing. Police have collected all footage from both April 9 and April 10. They have also requested footage from all vehicles that have cameras (buses, taxis, delivery trucks, etc). Whilst we are unsure how fast they are able to comb through all of this data, they have been able to answer all of our questions & concerns thus far.
-Phone Data: Apple does not keep last location data after a certain amount of time. We missed our window of opportunity to retrieve information from Apple since my family was unaware of her disappearance until April 14. My mother was using an Esim while traveling in Japan and we were able to login to her account to see how much data she had left (about 2GB). We were also able to determine which Japanese mobile phone companies have a contract with her Esim. We are still pushing to get this information! Another avenue we have explored is contacting Meta and Whatsapp to retrieve any location data they may have.
-All hospitals, jails, and morgues have been checked and accounted for
-We have put in a request to check any and all cars with front end damage that have been to a repair shop since April 10
-Unfortunately, my mom is the only person in our family who does not have a smart watch or google account
-There are currently no suspects
Additional Information
-There were rumours going around nearby villages that my mother had already been found. The local government made a PSA (utilizing systems that warn people of natural disasters) on April 28 to set the record straight.
-We have managed to secure two interviews with local papers in order to spread our story across Japan
Local Paper Article # 1
Local Paper Article # 2
-Pattie was featured in a Japanese documentary while hiking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage the second time (2022). This was something my mom made us all aware of by texting us (her family) updates and sending us a picture of a crew following her. What we were unaware of is that this documentary had been finished and released by one of the largest media corporations in Japan - NHK. We are hoping NHK reaches out to our family to follow up on her current circumstances.
Please watch and share this video to get an insight into my mom’s spirit and why she loved going on these hiking trips.
-If you would like more information on a daily basis please check out the following pages:
IG
@helpfindpattie2023
@murphymurad
@helpfindpattie
Help Find Pattie Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/818271996483575
If you would like to volunteer or have any important information regarding my mom’s case please email
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