Items belonging to a Connecticut mother who went missing in Japan, have been found a year and a half later. Patricia Wu-Murad, 61, disappeared while hiking the Kumano Kodo trail and was reported missing to local authorities on April 10, 2023, after she failed to show up to the guesthouse where she was supposed to be staying.
A 72-hour search ensued, but they were unable to locate her. The family started a GoFundMe to hire private search and rescue teams, but Patricia is unfortunately still missing. But on September 15, 2024, a single shoe and a backpack belonging to the mother of three were found.
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According to WTNH, the family received a message that some of Patricia's belongings had been found in a stream by "a person who was fishing in Totsukawa village."
In an update shared to a Facebook group dedicated to finding Patricia, her daughter Murphy Murad, provided further details.
"He found Pattie’s email (which is more or less her name) and her family’s home address written on a ziplock bag inside the backpack, and he reported it to the Gojo Police Station," the update reads. The post also revealed that additional items belonging to the mother were found "over the next few days," but no new updates have been given since September 20, 2024.
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"We were able to ascertain that all those things did belong to Pattie, so we had some excitement and thought maybe this is a breakthrough," Kirk Murad, Pattie's husband, told WFSB.
With no new information, the family is "back in frustration," he added. But Kirk is not giving up. "I have to hold out hope miraculously she is still alive and until I hear otherwise that’s the hope I’m holding onto."
