Global InformationDeath of Atsumi Yoshikubo information
Atsumi Yoshikubo | |
|---|---|
吉窪昌美 | |
 Image of Yoshikubo distributed at time of her disappearance | |
| Born | November 3, 1968 |
| Disappeared | October 22, 2014 (aged 45) Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Status | Found dead |
| Body discovered | August 31, 2015 Outside Yellowknife |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Psychiatrist |
| Height | 157 cm (5 ft 2 in)[1] |
Around midday on October 22, 2014, a passing motorist saw an Asian woman walking north along the Ingraham Trail on the outskirts of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Several days later, after seeing stories in the local media that 45-year old Atsumi Yoshikubo (吉窪昌美) who had been visiting the city from her home in southern Japan, had gone missing, she reported the sighting.[2] It was the last time she was seen alive.
Yoshikubo's absence was first noted five days after that sighting, when staff at her hotel noticed she had not checked out two days after her stay was due to have ended. In her room they found her luggage, still packed; she had apparently never boarded her flight home. Footage from the hotel's security camera showed her leaving shortly before she was last seen along the road.[3] When that sighting was reported in the news, it suggested to many residents that she might have gotten lost in the vast expanse of taiga surrounding the city, and they augmented official search efforts with their own ventures into the bush.[4]
The case attracted considerable media interest not only across Canada but also in Japan, where Yellowknife is a popular destination for those seeking to view the northern lights. A week after Yoshikubo's disappearance, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that they were calling off the search, as their investigation, in cooperation with Japanese police, had led them to believe that she had intended to take her own life. Her family, from whom she had been estranged for some time, doubted that conclusion, pointing to evidence that suggested she intended to return.[5]
Over the next ten months, police continued searching for the body they expected to find, using areas she may have visited for training exercises.[6] On August 31, 2015, a hiker found some of her personal effects, along with human remains, in a wooded area north of the city.[7] The RCMP confirmed that the items belonged to Yoshikubo, and began to identify the DNA from the bone fragments.[8] In April 2016 they were matched to Yoshikubo, and the investigation has been officially closed.[9]
- ^ "Missing Japanese tourist was last seen heading to Jackfish Lake". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). October 28, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ Anselmi, Elaine (November 12, 2014). "Witness regrets day tourist went missing". Northern News Services. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ "Atsumi Yoshikubo, Japanese tourist, still missing in Yellowknife". CBC. October 29, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ Rendell, Mark (October 30, 2014). "Yellowknifers organize their own search for missing Japanese tourist". Edge_YK. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ O'Connor, Joe (November 9, 2014). "RCMP believes Japanese psychiatrist had suicidal plan to disappear into wilderness outside Yellowknife". National Post. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Yellowknifers still searching for Atsumi Yoshikubo, missing Japanese tourist". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). July 23, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Looking for Atsumi: A moment by moment look at her disappearance". CBC. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Items found with remains belonged to missing Japanese tourist". CBC. Sep 2, 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "DNA confirms remains found in 2015 belong to Atsumi Yoshikubo, missing Japanese tourist". CBC. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.