Connecticut mom's remains found 2 years after she vanished in Japan
The remains of a Connecticut woman who went missing on a hike in Japan two years ago have been recovered, her family announced.
Pattie Wu-Murad disappeared in April 2023 during a solo hiking trip in central Japan. Despite an extensive search around the Kumano Kodo Trail, which included American and Japanese search and rescue teams, the U.S. Embassy and the FBI, no trace of her was found.
In September 2024, more than a year and a half after her disappearance, a fisherman found Wu-Murad's backpack and one hiking shoe near a stream on a different trail from where her family originally believed she was hiking, the family said. Japanese officials launched another search in that area, but no further evidence was found.
Earlier this year, a member of the original U.S. search team who was in Japan in April, retraced the area where Wu-Murad's backpack was found and discovered several other of her personal items and what appeared to be a femur, her family said in a post on social media.
On May 9, the family was told that DNA testing using a sample from Wu-Murad's daughter confirmed the remains were a match.
"Although we had tried to prepare ourselves for this outcome, the finality of this news is heartbreaking," her family said in a Facebook post. "It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie's death. We now begin the process of working through international protocols to bring her remains home."
Wu-Murad's family said they hope more evidence will be found to shed light on what happened.
"There'll be more people on that trail over the coming months and years, and maybe they'll come across more evidence," her husband, Kirk Murad, told NBC Connecticut.
The family expressed their gratitude for the search teams, volunteers and outpouring of support they received over the past two years.
"Pattie was an incredible woman whose love and friendship touched many lives," they said. "While we are devastated, we are also humbled by the global community that rallied to help find her. We will continue to honor her memory with love and gratitude in our hearts."
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