More than two years after a woman from Storrs went missing while hiking in Japan, investigators have found her remains and confirmed her death, according to her family.
Pattie Wu-Murad went missing on April 10, 2023, while hiking in the Nara Prefecture in central Japan. She was last seen checking out of the Mandokoro guest house around 7 a.m.
Stream Connecticut News for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HEREAfter she went missing, local police conducted a 72-hour search with officers and helicopters, but were unable to find any leads.
Together, Wu-Murad's family worked with local officials and private search teams from the United States to spread out and search other parts of the trails.
Get top local Connecticut stories delivered to you every morning with the News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP Several specialized teams and multiple searches of the area were conducted after Wu-Murad disappeared.
For months, there was no trace of Wu-Murad found. After nearly a year-and-a-half of no news, Wu-Murad's family said a fisherman discovered her backpack and one hiking shoe near a stream closer to a different trail from where it was originally believed she had been hiking. Japanese police conducted a search in that region, but did not find any other evidence.
Last month, Wu-Murad's family said a member of the U.S. search team who was in Japan retraced the area near where the backpack had previously been found. During the hike, he reportedly found several of Wu-Murad's personal items and what appeared to be a femur. The bone was confirmed to be human.
Local
A DNA test was performed and after comparing to Wu-Murad's daughter, it was confirmed that the remains were a match to Wu-Murad, her family said.
"Although we had tried to prepare ourselves for this outcome, the finality of this news is heartbreaking. It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie’s death," Wu-Murad's family posted.
Now the family says they will work through international protocols to bring Wu-Murad's remains home.
"Pattie was an incredible woman whose love and friendship touched many lives. 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," her family said.
