I spoke with Kannapolis PD a couple weeks ago about David. His vehicle and phone was found in a remote area of Dupont State Recreational Forest. An extensive search in the forest was conducted but David was not found. David may have went to the forest for the purpose of committing suicide.
In my research into David's case along with information provided to me from KPD and from what I know of Japanese Culture, I believe that David specifically went to the forest to commit was is known as "
Honor Suicide". From the tattoo's that David has, one can come to the conclusion that David had strong Japanese traditional values. There were many things going on in David's personal life, which I will not disclose, that he may have seen as "shameful" or "dishonorable".
David was searching online numerous State and National parks and forests just prior to being declared missing. This does not surprise me. There is a forest on the northwest flank of Mt Fuji called
Aokigahara that is also known as the Suicide Forest.
Excerpts from Wikipedia
"Aokigahara (青木ヶ原, 'Blue Tree Meadow'), also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海, Jukai), is a forest on the northwestern flank of the Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu in Japan....
The forest has a historical reputation as a home to yūrei: ghosts of the dead in Japanese mythology. At least since the 1960s, Aokigahara has become associated with suicide, eventually becoming known in English by the nickname "Suicide Forest" and gaining a reputation as one of the world's most-used suicide sites. Because of this, signs at the head of some trails urge suicidal visitors to think of their families and contact a suicide prevention association.
Suicides
Aokigahara is sometimes referred to as the most popular site for suicide in Japan. In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002. In 2010, the police recorded 54 confirmed suicides out of more than 200 attempts. Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of the fiscal year in Japan. As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging or drug overdose. Local officials have stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to decrease Aokigahara's association with suicide.
The rate of suicide has led officials to place a sign at the forest's entry urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not take their own lives. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and journalists since 1970."
This documentary from Vice may give some insight into David's motivations.
Viewer Discretion Advised.
Suicide Forest in Japan
Hurricane Helene had a devastating effect of the park. Many trails are still closed to the public and trees are down everywhere. I am looking into conducting a search for David by mapping areas with drones and analyzing the imagery with software that looks for un-natural colors in the images and provides coordinates. Maybe I can spot clothing, shoes, etc. in the downed trees.
I'll post updates on my search efforts
