ACTIVE SEARCH JAPAN - Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, 60, US Citizen, on hiking trip Kumano Kodo Trail, didn't arr next stop Osaka, 10 Apr 2023

[ZaZara]

As I understand it, Pattie was on the second leg of the Kohechi trail. She had just completed her first overnight.

As I recall, Pattie had elected not to communicate with folks back home very much, for whatever reason, and she had let them know she was likely to be unavailable. I don't believe a phone turned off would provide a location trail. When a phone is constantly trying to reach a cell tower, it drains the battery, so hikers often turn their phones off. This was the situation in the Dingley case: she had a phone, but cell history was irrelevant, because her phone was off. Another recent case was a young man in Glacier. He used a reflective safety blanket to the get the attention of an airborne unit: no phone involved. And then, of course, there was the Sands case.

I don't believe there would have been consistent cell service on the Kohechi, even though there might have been service on portions of the actual trail tread. It's an extremely rugged area, from looking at video, with many skyward obstructions. All it would take would be a minor accident that pulled you into a drainage where it was impossible to get out, and you'd head downwards, away from the trail. The young man in Glacier is an excellent example. Luckily, he was carrying his 10 essentials; they saved his life.

However, all in all, I hear the Japanese being blamed for the outcome here from many angles, e.g. the phone tracing, the search parameters, etc. etc.. I think this is very unfortunate. IMO when a person voluntarily undertakes a high-risk trip in a remote area, the risk is entirely on them. No one else is to blame if the trip goes sideways (except, perhaps, in the case of a random crime, which seems very unlikely here). The Japanese are a gracious people, pilgrimages are an important economic driver, a 3-day search is standard (because it covers the likelihood of survival, which is greatly diminished after that time), and the official warnings about the Kohechi trail are well-published.

AFAIK Bulley went missing in an urbanized area with blanket cell service.

The family noticed that there was consistent cell phone service on the third leg of the trail that Pattie planned to hike on the day that she disappeared.

What drainage? What Glacier? There are no glaciers on the Kohechi trail.

 

[annpats]

The family noticed that there was consistent cell phone service on the third leg of the trail that Pattie planned to hike on the day that she disappeared.

What drainage? What Glacier? There are no glaciers on the Kohechi trail.

Correct, but re-read the post to understand it. @RickshawFan was commenting on an incident at a place called Glacier. A man who was lost/injured used a reflective safety jacket to get the attention of an airborne unit. It's all there in the text..

 

[RickshawFan]

Correct, but re-read the post to understand it. @RickshawFan was commenting on an incident at a place called Glacier. A man who was lost/injured used a reflective safety jacket to get the attention of an airborne unit. It's all there in the text..

Thanks, @annpats for clarifying.

FWIW Glacier is Glacier National Park, but actually the location of my example doesn't matter, as you point out.

 

[RickshawFan]

The family noticed that there was consistent cell phone service on the third leg of the trail that Pattie planned to hike on the day that she disappeared.

What drainage? What Glacier? There are no glaciers on the Kohechi trail.

The Kohechi trail is riddled with steep drop offs and drainages (ravines). It's not rare for "missing hikers" to end up in a drainage below the trail. Here's a short list off the top of my head, all recent cases:

Emily Sotelo
Guopeng Lee
Gabrielle Wallace and Eric Desplinter (they were saved when they came across the equipment of a dead man who had gone missing in the same spot)
Matthew Read
Mitzie Sue Clemens

 

[RickshawFan]

The family noticed that there was consistent cell phone service on the third leg of the trail that Pattie planned to hike on the day that she disappeared.

What drainage? What Glacier? There are no glaciers on the Kohechi trail.

My understanding is that the third leg of the Kohechi was on the schedule for the day AFTER Pattie went missing. Though perhaps you mean the third leg of the second section?

IMO It's most likely Pattie went missing on the strenuous and wildest portion of the 2nd section of the Kohechi. This would have been the first piece after she left the trailhead. As I say, there might have been cell reception exactly on the trail, or at least bars on the phone. (It's unclear whether anyone tried phoning from there to demonstrate that bars equated to actual service).

Whether or not there actually was cell service on that trail doesn't matter here IMO. It's something of a red herring pinned to the idea that "Pattie would have called" or "Japanese authorities should have pinged her phone". The only thing that matters is Pattie's interaction with it, including whether there actually was service where and when she needed it, the phone had battery life, or if she was alert enough to actually use the phone.

 

[RickshawFan]

Whenever something like this happens, my safety suggestions get activated....

A pack whistle could have been life or death on a hike like Pattie's. And, you might have one without knowing it! Check it out: many packs have a whistle built into the buckle on the sternum strap. If you have an accident, the whistle will be within inches of your mouth.

The buckle with whistle looks like this:

 

[annpats]

Of course, using your phone and whistle are good....if you're physically able to or not unconscious.

Also keeping your phone at arm's reach (in a chest pocket) is a good idea too. Don't keep it in your bag. If you're in too much pain to move, the close you have it to your hands the better.

 

[RickshawFan]

The third leg of the Kohechi trail is incomparable to the Appalachian trail. Pilgrims on the Kochechi trail have no reason to step off the beaten path - the slopes are too steep to do so.
Mobile network is good in the entire area, as the family found out.
Why do you make this comparison?

As I read it, @Susikatze isn’t making comparisons between the Kohechi and Appalachian Trails. @Susikatze is correct in saying that if you go off trail, you increase your risk of getting lost. Simple common sense.

From what I gather, human needs being what they are, pilgrims on the Kohechi have just as much cause for stepping off trail as folks on the AT. If nature calls, and there’s no one around, sure, you can simply use the facilities trailside. A lot of guys can do that readily, but for women without practice and commitment, it’s complicated. It takes a certain kind of gal to pee while standing up and wearing a pack. And it takes a certain kind of gal to risk lack of privacy. I don’t think we’re looking at that here.

As for a situation where you’ll be using a cathole, well, you’d have to leave the trail more than a few feet. That’s very risky if you’re solo IME. When I’m solo, I try not to go more than a few feet off trail for ANY reason. But if I ate something that doesn’t agree with me, well, I’d have to re-assess.

Furthermore, there are a thousand ways to Sunday that could have caused someone to go off trail on the Kohechi that don’t have anything to do with nature calls. And someone who is not familiar with that type of terrain might very well underestimate the risks.

 

[RickshawFan]

Of course, using your phone and whistle are good....if you're physically able to or not unconscious.

Also keeping your phone at arm's reach (in a chest pocket) is a good idea too. Don't keep it in your bag. If you're in too much pain to move, the close you have it to your hands the better.

Great advice. My latest problem is that phones got too big for pack pockets. Now that the iphone has satellite SOS, great, but oh dear, where to put it!

IMO Pattie likely carried her phone in the fanny pack, but since she didn’t plan to use it…or, she could have had it in her fanny pack, and it tumbled out, and she went after it….

 

[Snoopster]

My understanding is that the third leg of the Kohechi was on the schedule for the day AFTER Pattie went missing. Though perhaps you mean the third leg of the second section?

IMO It's most likely Pattie went missing on the strenuous and wildest portion of the 2nd section of the Kohechi. This would have been the first piece after she left the trailhead. As I say, there might have been cell reception exactly on the trail, or at least bars on the phone. (It's unclear whether anyone tried phoning from there to demonstrate that bars equated to actual service).

Whether or not there actually was cell service on that trail doesn't matter here IMO. It's something of a red herring pinned to the idea that "Pattie would have called" or "Japanese authorities should have pinged her phone". The only thing that matters is Pattie's interaction with it, including whether there actually was service where and when she needed it, the phone had battery life, or if she was alert enough to actually use the phone.

It is my understanding that Pattie had completed the first 2 legs (heading from north to south) and was starting out on the the 3rd leg. She was expected to arrive in Totsukawa that day and didn't arrive.

 

[RickshawFan]

It is my understanding that Pattie had completed the first 2 legs (heading from north to south) and was starting out on the the 3rd leg. She was expected to arrive in Totsukawa that day and didn't arrive.

I stand corrected. Yes, the 3rd leg. That's the one with the Miura Toge Pass; my previous comments all reflect the Miura Toge portion, but I thought it was the second leg of the Kohechi. Very high risk of something going wrong and ending up somewhere VERY dangerous.

 

[StillDiggin]

Happy birthday Pattie.

There is this article in the messenger if anyone can post it.

Husband of Woman Missing in Japan Spends Her Birthday Alone Wondering If She Was Abducted​

'We are no closer to finding her than when she went missing,' Kirk Murad says of his wife, Pattie Wu-Murad, who vanished April 10​

 

[ZaZara]

Happy birthday Pattie.

There is this article in the messenger if anyone can post it.

Husband of Woman Missing in Japan Spends Her Birthday Alone Wondering If She Was Abducted​

'We are no closer to finding her than when she went missing,' Kirk Murad says of his wife, Pattie Wu-Murad, who vanished April 10​

Husband of Woman Missing in Japan Spends Her Birthday Alone Wondering If She Was Abducted

 

[vls12345]

Husband of Woman Missing in Japan Spends Her Birthday Alone Wondering If She Was Abducted

The end of the article broke my heart a bit:

"I was asking her where she was, and asking her if she could give us a clue, and if she is deceased, what is it like up there," he says. "It's stuff I think about all the time."

 

[ohemgee.kay925]

I'm so sad that she is still missing. I hadn't realized how much time had passed since her disappearance.

 

[wary]

already answered

 

[Hap]

Very sad. Hope it's not years before she is found...

 

[StillDiggin]

Are Japanese authorities doing enough to locate missing foreign travellers?

Questions have been raised about the seriousness of Japanese authorities in resolving foreign disappearances amid a swathe of missing traveller cases across Japan.

www.scmp.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Kirk Murad and his daughter Murphy sit in the living room of their home with a photo of Kirk and his wife, Patricia Wu-Murad, on their wedding day 33 years ago, Storrs, Conn., August 25, 2023. Wu-Murad went missing in April while on a pilgrimage hiking through the mountains of Japan. Photo by Cloe Poisson/Special to the Court

STORRS — Murphy Murad is home. But her mom isn’t there to make her favorite meal.

“She would do surf and turf for me,” Murphy said. “Because red meat is really expensive in Singapore (where she lived), and I love steak and seafood.”

Her mother, Pattie Wu-Murad, designed the house where her family lives in Storrs. The kitchen was her favorite place.

‘We’re in limbo’: Painful reminders at home for family of missing Connecticut woman

A Connecticut family is trying to put the pieces of their lives back together after their mother and wife went missing after heading out on a hike the morning of April 10 and has not been found.

www.courant.com

 

[neesaki]

This is one case that truly puzzles me. For one, she doesn’t seem to fit the typical age profile of a woman who would have been targeted, as in kidnapped, sexually assaulted, etc. I certainly hope that’s not what happened, anyway. Not that it never happens.
Perhaps she was carrying a lot of cash?

Another thing that, IMO, brings up questions, is her telling her husband, she would not have phone service for several days when she was on that trail. Why would she assume that? When in fact, the opposite was true, according to the family who later walked the trail, and had no problem with phone service. It seems she just went completely off the grid, possibly for several days, maybe before even truly missing.
I wonder what the owner of the place she stayed at had to say about phone service on the trail. Wouldn't they know about any phone signal issues?

Also, please correct me if I’m misremembering, but she had not planned to do that particular trail originally. It was rather last minute, and spontaneous. Am I wrong?

And, that trail, as well as surrounding areas, were searched multiple times, extensively, by professional searchers, and volunteers…..and zero, zilch, nada. IDK, Jmo.