Human remains found near Yamanashi campsite where girl went missing in 2019

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:36 JST, April 27, 2022

KOFU — Human remains believed to be part of a child’s skull have been found near a campsite in Doshi, Yamanashi Prefecture, where a girl went missing in 2019.

The Yamanashi prefectural police are investigating whether the remains are those of Misaki Ogura of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, who was seven years old when she disappeared in September 2019.

DNA analysis and other tests are being conducted as part of their investigations.

According to investigative sources, bone fragments were found on the side of a mountain road about 600 meters east of the campsite on Saturday by a man in his 40s who was searching the area.

The volunteer initially left the site without reporting the discovery, but concerned that the bones might have been human remains, he returned on Monday and then contacted the police.

About 40 officers searched the area on Tuesday but did not find any other remains. About 30 police officers continued the search on Wednesday.

When Misaki was reported missing in 2019, about 1,700 people were involved in the search operation over two weeks, including personnel from the prefectural police, the local fire department, the Self-Defense Forces and other organizations.

The remains were found in a location that had been included in the large-scale search operation.

Misaki and members of her family visited the campsite with friends on Sept. 21, 2019, in a group of 27 people. The first-grader was last seen at around 3:40 p.m., when she went alone to a nearby stream where her friends had gone to play.

She was reported missing later on that day.

After the large-scale search operation had ended, Misaki’s mother Tomoko continued to visit the campsite to distribute flyers and set up a website appealing for information.