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

[LifeIsAMystery]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

Glad you were ok!

 

[Charlot123]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

OK. Understand. Panic plus sundowning effect? We all orient much worse in the darkness, our eyes are not made for it. Plus, realistically, vitamin A is the only one not recommended to supplement exogenously. So our rods are scanty and some of us might have a degree of nocturnal blindness due to retinol deficiency. And the picture suddenly gets from 3D to “flat”.

Night panic is another common thing. Nights for our ancestors were scary. Animals, sudden attacks. The fire helped. So…having no source of external light can subject one to primal fear. I know people who attach an extra lamp to the windshield when driving, of purple color, to facilitate adaptation from light to darkness. I don’t know why purple.

Do we know when Patricia started her hiking that day, and when was the sunset?
Also, that owner of the house she stayed in, who sees people out, where does he say good-bye to them? It is something that other tourists may testify to.

I am very sorry for the fear you felt, but it is the normal response and the normal, expected shift in perception.

I wonder if Patty was a morning person and started her hike in dusk that morning?

ETA: I can offer the explanation why your thinking was hyperfocused on that trail. We humans have rather narrow field of vision as opposed to dogs or hares, so looking straight is typical for us, but this is where there are very few rods, they are on the retinal periphery but at daytime we don’t use it. So you were trying to “wake up” the rods in the center. Makes total sense, but one does feel panic at such moments.

 

[vls12345]

I thought the keeper of the place she stayed the previous night either walked her to the trailhead that morning or pointed it out to Pattie because it could be a little tricky to find.... Iirc.

Does anyone else remember discussion about that?

 

[slowpoke]

I thought the keeper of the place she stayed the previous night either walked her to the trailhead that morning or pointed it out to Pattie because it could be a little tricky to find.... Iirc.

Does anyone else remember discussion about that?

Yes, we here at first thought the keeper walked her to the trailhead, but then we heard she was only pointed towards the right direction. Maybe 1/4 mile away from the trail.

I had posted about how I saw a photo of the elderly woman host raising both arms to say goodbye, standing by what looks to be at some sort of general store, which may be just around the bend from the minshoku. This is some person’s blog from years ago.
I didn’t know if it’s ok to link it, but Google “Kohechi Day 4: Totsukawa Onsen - Randomwire” to see the post and photo.

 

[slowpoke]

This is an news article in the Japanese language about the finding of the backpack. Saw on the HelpFindPattie FB page.

行方不明アメリカ人女性の名前が入ったリュック発見 十津川村｜NHK 奈良県のニュース

【NHK】去年（２０２３年）４月、奈良県と和歌山県にまたがる世界遺産の「熊野古道」を訪れ、行方がわからなくなっているアメリカ人女性の名前が入ったリュ…

www3.nhk.or.jp

One thing new I noted is that it said of the state of the backpack (through Google Translate):

 

[celinesleuth]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

Your experience sounds horrifying. I'm so glad you're okay.
Accounts like this are why I believe that even the most (seemingly) experienced wilderness-survivalist-hiker-outdoorsy person can suddenly make decisions that seem illogical or irrational to us. I think of Pattie often and I hope she is located soon, and hopefully we are one step closer to piecing together what happened

 

[Quim The Extraordinaire]

It seems quite fortunate that Pattie’s email in the ziplock bag was still in the backpack. Perhaps she had it well-protected in an inner zippered compartment. She seemed to take those kind of precautions. I’m sorry that didn’t prevent her disappearance. Strength to her loved ones.

IMO MOO etc.

 

[Charlot123]

Just in case, posting sunrise and sunset in Osaka on April 10, 2023. I assume that at 7am, when Patricia came out, it was full day. She could have ended on the wrong trail because it was poorly marked, one hopes it was the case. Trail panic, difficult terrain or true medical emergency could have played a role.

Sunrise/Sunset @ Osaka (Osaka) 2023-04 - ECO, NAOJ

 

[Unalienable Rights]

‘Hoping upon hope’: Missing woman’s backpack found more than a year after her disappearance

A Connecticut woman has been missing for nearly a year and a half after traveling to Japan, but her family is holding onto hope that she may still be alive.

www.kold.com

October 1, 2024

*****
The items have given police a location to focus on, but Kirk Murad said they are still waiting for further updates from authorities.

“Now, we’re back to frustration, the same frustration for the last 17 months, where there’s nothing,” he said.

The emotions have also led to Kirk Murad moving out of Connecticut, as his home kept reminding him of his missing wife.

As the search continues, family, friends, and crew are hanging on to the hope that Wu-Murad will still be found alive.

*****

 

[slowpoke]

Paraphrasing a few statements in the paywalled article:

Loading…

www.thehour.com

The Murads are giving the Japan police time to search and investigate before they consider what they should do next. Authorities are searching the river upstream and downstream from where items were found.

Pattie’s husband says despite the latest recovery of her backpack, still don’t have the answer to: did she go on the wrong trail and got lost or fell, or was she abducted and killed.

He asked the police about the tears in the backpack, about what they thought how it came to be in that condition: Knife—animal—water—typhoon that passed through since the time the family had been there searching? Police said damage appeared to be from the stream.

 

[GraceG]

Paraphrasing a few statements in the paywalled article:

Loading…

www.thehour.com

The Murads are giving the Japan police time to search and investigate before they consider what they should do next. Authorities are searching the river upstream and downstream from where items were found.

Pattie’s husband says despite the latest recovery of her backpack, still don’t have the answer to: did she go on the wrong trail and got lost or fell, or was she abducted and killed.

He asked the police about the tears in the backpack, about what they thought how it came to be in that condition: Knife—animal—water—typhoon that passed through since the time the family had been there searching? Police said damage appeared to be from the stream.

The shoe being found downstream in addition to possible stream/water damage to the backpack may indicate she went in the water. Did anyone check for any type of precip at the time she went missing that might have resulted in flooding, flash or otherwise in the streams?

 

[slowpoke]

The shoe being found downstream in addition to possible stream/water damage to the backpack may indicate she went in the water. Did anyone check for any type of precip at the time she went missing that might have resulted in flooding, flash or otherwise in the streams?

I mentioned Kirk Murad mentioning a typhoon that passed through, so I looked it up.

“Typhoon No. 7 made landfall on Aug. 15 [2023] on the Kii Peninsula, where torrential rains continued until noon in Wakayama and Nara prefectures. The sight of swollen rivers rushing downstream was alarming enough to quicken my breathing, and the flood damage continued to mount.”

VOX POPULI: Typhoon No. 7 blows out to sea after ruining Bon holiday | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

The article mentions Totsukawa village, so I assume it would be referring to the area Pattie would have been hiking. MOO

(edited to add a thought)

 

[starlightstarbright]

I still can’t quite work out the lay of the land on the route where Patty might have taken the wrong trail to where the backpack was found, but does the route cross any bridges over the river? I’m wondering about the possibility of a fall from a height into the water.

 

[slowpoke]

I still can’t quite work out the lay of the land on the route where Patty might have taken the wrong trail to where the backpack was found, but does the route cross any bridges over the river? I’m wondering about the possibility of a fall from a height into the water.

I don’t know the route she may have taken to end up Northeast of Minshuku Mandokoro, either.

But it appears there are several suspension bridges throughout the general area.

I feel like she would have been careful in going across one, so I don’t see her falling from one. IMO. I think most have wire mesh and rails on the sides. I can’t see her doing something crazy like trying to climb up on the side for a photo, for example. JMO

(They still can feel a bit scary, though!

)

 

[ZaZara]

I don’t know the route she may have taken to end up Northeast of Minshuku Mandokoro, either.

But it appears there are several suspension bridges throughout the general area.

I feel like she would have been careful in going across one, so I don’t see her falling from one. IMO. I think most have wire mesh and rails on the sides. I can’t see her doing something crazy like trying to climb up on the side for a photo, for example. JMO

(They still can feel a bit scary, though!

)

Pattie's backpack was found north of the Madokoro guesthouse near the spring of a stream that runs south.

This picture was posted on FB Help find Pattie. IMO all the bridges are in the area around the junction. If she fell off a bridge there, no way her belongings would have floated upstream.

 

[ChildrenOfTheQuorn]

I did this trail in 2019. I find it incredibly difficult to believe there was any foul play to be honest. I know it's just my own experience, but the owners of all the guesthouses I visited were unfailingly polite and (appeared at least!) completely harmless.

ETA: To clarify - foul play from the Japanese guesthouse owners.

 

[iamshadow21]

I did this trail in 2019. I find it incredibly difficult to believe there was any foul play to be honest. I know it's just my own experience, but the owners of all the guesthouses I visited were unfailingly polite and (appeared at least!) completely harmless.

Foul play could have come from anyone, not just guest house owners. The world is full of folks with good or ill intent, and they look like everyone.

MOO

 

[justtrish]

Foul play could have come from anyone, not just guest house owners. The world is full of folks with good or ill intent, and they look like everyone.

MOO

Absolutely! It could have been another guest visiting the area, it could have been someone seeing a woman on the wrong path and seeing a crime of opportunity, it could have been a tragic accident.

 

[slowpoke]

Pattie's backpack was found north of the Madokoro guesthouse near the spring of a stream that runs south.

This picture was posted on FB Help find Pattie. IMO all the bridges are in the area around the junction. If she fell off a bridge there, no way her belongings would have floated upstream.

The daughter posted “northeast”, so that’s where I got that:

“The items were located in a stream northeast of the Mandokoro guesthouse, where she was last seen.”

Help Us Find Pattie Wu-Murad on Instagram: "Backpack found that belongs to Pattie. Update from Murphy: On September 15, a person who was fishing in Totsukawa village found a backpack in a stream. He found Pattie’s email (which is more or less he

557 likes, 27 comments - helpfindpattie2023 on September 29, 2024: "Backpack found that belongs to Pattie. Update from Murphy: On September 15, a person who was fishing in Totsukawa village found a backpack in a stream. He found Pattie’s email (which is more or less her name) and her...

www.instagram.com

 

[vls12345]

Pattie's backpack was found north of the Madokoro guesthouse near the spring of a stream that runs south.

This picture was posted on FB Help find Pattie. IMO all the bridges are in the area around the junction. If she fell off a bridge there, no way her belongings would have floated upstream.

How do we know that stream where the backpack was found runs south?