The family of a missing Storrs woman is hoping new equipment will help find their loved one. Pattie Wu-Murad was last seen hiking in Japan nearly a month ago and hasn’t been heard from since.
“This is a very difficult time for us. We want her back. We want her back as soon as possible.”
Day by day, Kirk Murad continues to keep faith his wife, Pattie Wu-Murad will be found. She has been missing since April 10 while hiking in the Nara prefecture in central Japan. Searchers had been focused on the Kumano Kodo trail but have now switched to other areas after getting new information from police and local trail runners.
“We are combing the area where we believe she disappeared,” he said.
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Murad says drones will be deployed with the video being run through forensic software to detect unfamiliar colors in the landscape.
“It’s going to pick up colors that don’t belong like yellow. She had a yellow backpack. Orange. She had an orange fanny pack. We’re hoping one of those colors sticks out.”
All this effort requires money. While the family says they have received generous financial support from donors through crowdfunding, a decision was made to leave Japan and fly to Singapore where his daughter Murphy lives.
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“She’s already paying rent there so we can save whatever money we have from the GoFundme to continue searching,” he said.
The family is making it clear that the search is not over. They will keep in touch with teams on the ground continuing to work on their behalf.
“Pattie, hopefully somehow you can hear this. We’re coming to get you. We’ll find you. I know your strong enough to get through this,” he said.
The family says Singapore is only a six-hour flight away, so they can be accessible in case major developments happen.
