Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, of Storrs, is missing after going hiking in Japan and the Murad family was able to convince local authorities in Totsukawa, Japan to resume the search for her on April 18.
Wu-Murad went missing on Monday, April 10 while hiking the Kumano Kodo Trail in Japan.
The U.S. Consulate notified the family on Thursday, April 13 after the 72-hour search had ended.
Kirk Murad, Pattie Wu-Murad’s husband, traveled to Japan to conduct a search himself, along with some of the couple’s children.
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Since arriving in Japan, Kirk met with local police for about four hours on Tuesday to find out what details they already knew and pinpoint where they searched. The family also hired its own search-and-rescue team, which has been actively looking for Wu-Murad.
Murad and his son also searched along the 11-and-a-half-to-12-mile stretch of trail.
“My wife is a very experienced hiker and there's nothing in this particular hike that is extreme. It's very wooded. It's pretty steep,” Murad said. “There's maybe two or three spots where she would stop to take a picture because she loves to stop and see the scenery. And in those spots, there were a couple of big drop-offs, but we've had those places searched and there's no sign of her,” said Kirk Murad.
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Murad said they know where she was on the night of April 9. There is a picture of her at the hostel with one of the people who work there. She was supposed to leave on the morning of Monday, April 10.
“Originally, I thought maybe you know she was a victim of something at the hostel. But the more we hear about the hostel owners, they are members of the community, they're very highly ranked, and people who stay there say he always walks people over to the trail to make sure that they get on their way safely. And he says that he did that for her. So that's the only witness that we have, that he walked her towards the trail and said, 'Here you go.' And she thanked him and she was on her way,” said Murad.
But Murad said there is no physical proof she was on the trail. When she didn’t arrive to meet friends that night from Wethersfield, Connecticut who were in Japan, the friends notified authorities that she was missing.
“We know that if she left at 7 a.m., she definitely would have been to her next stop before 5 p.m. There's no doubt about it. And so now we're thinking what else could it be? Could she be a victim of a crime? So, I met with the police again today (Thursday). We asked the police to open up a criminal investigation. Not that we have any suspects, but we just want to open all avenues because really, right now, she disappeared off the face of the earth. We don't know how,” said Murad.
In the past two years, Wu-Murad has hiked the Camino trail in Spain twice, she hiked in Petra, Spain, in Egypt and in Jordan, according to her husband.
“She plans meticulously. If there's a YouTube video and anything having to do with this particular site, she has watched it. So she knows the pitfalls. She knows where she should stay. She knows the safety. There's no stone unturned. So this is why it's so frustrating,” Murad said.
Murad is having twice-daily meetings with members of the U.S. embassy, a representative from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office, as well as family in Connecticut.
“We’re strategizing as much as we can. We just, you know, we're hoping that we can get some more resources,” said Murad.
The family has continued to raise money for additional search efforts and interpreters.
“We've met some wonderful people, some very supportive people, the people at home have been so supportive, and we really appreciate that the love and support. We're just hoping to bring her home,” said Murad.
