A girl who went missing in Hokkaido was recently found by chance after a member of the public reported a man who was acting suspiciously. These suspicious persons reports are often mocked by netizens, but in this case it paid off.
The girl was found safe and well, and the man is now facing a police investigation, although he maintains his innocence.
From Yahoo! Japan:
Lost Girl Recovered Safely; 26-Year Old Man From Neighbourhood Arrested On Suspicion Of Confining Her In His Home In Hokkaido
Hokkaido Police have safely recovered a 9 year old elementary school girl from Shiroishi District in Sapporo, whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 27 the apartment of an unemployed 26 year old man named Matsui Hajime who lives in her neighbourhood and he was arrested. According to Hokkaido Police, there was no noticeable physical injury. The suspect denied it, saying “it’s not true”.
The accused lives in the same district of east Sapporo is suspected to have confined the girl in his house.
According to Hokkaido Police, the suspect’s apartment is a few hundred meters from the girl’s house and the two are not known to have had any previous acquaintance. When the girl was found, she was sitting on a computer chair in the living room. She is said to not have been tied up or otherwise restricted and started crying when the inspectors entered the room.
Around 3pm on January 27 she told her mother she was going to buy a notebook and went out, after which her whereabouts became unknown. It is thought that the suspect ambushed the girl in the car-park of his building when she was on her way home, drawing her in by saying things like “come here”. It is said that at the beginning of her confinement her whole body was bound with something like tape.
The suspect was found through information about a suspicious person given to Hokkaido Police on February 2, and CCTV videos that showed a man with a young girl. On 10pm of the same day as the suspect was about to go out he was questioned by police, and when the police entered the man’s home, the girl was discovered. For that reason the suspect was arrested.
The police believe there is a chance the suspect may have been caught up in some kind of trouble, so they have released his photos in an appeal for more information.
The girl is the second daughter of a 34 year old company worker and is a 3rd grade student in a primary school in east Sapporo. The parents released the following statement through the police: “We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts that our daughter was able to have been found safely.”
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
fkm*****:
I’m truly glad she was found safely.
bhx*****:
I’m glad she was found safely.
Terrorizing a child is an extremely terrible crime.
The criminal should be investigated thoroughly.
朝飯前:
I’m happy that she’s alive.
tou*****:
It says that she was found safely but was she really safe??
In any case it’s great that she was found!
Give the criminal a severe punishment!
終末ヒロイン:
It’s good that she’s safe, welcome home!
nor*****:
As a parent with a daughter I can’t explain how uneasy this makes me.
Even if it’s a different region and they’re different ages I still worry.
Please give him a severe punishment.
iwk*****:
The girl should be given thorough aftercare.
pcm*****:
Honestly, I thought there was no chance of finding her.
The most important thing is that she was found!
Give the death penalty to this pervert immediately!
If she was killed, if I was the parent I would kill him right away!
Mildtissues:
Oh! What a relief.
But it must have been scary for her to have been confined. Poor thing.
Give the man a severe punishment!
jan*****:
If there had been no tip-offs or information, I would have thought she was being confined by a
pervert. It was solved quicker than I thought it would be, and I’m glad.
It’s really great that the police put so much effort into it.
iikagennishite:
It’s good that she was found.
I want her care from now to be treated with importance to ease her mental trauma.
san*****:
When I look at a case like this I want to hear the opinion of those who are for abolishing the
death penalty.
Especially those with daughters.
tak*****:
I’m truly glad she was found.
But I’m really worried about her, she must be in pieces after several days of confinement.
The criminal should have the most severe punishment possible…
twi*****:
If she was confined by a man she didn’t know for almost a week, surely she is completely not
“safe” mentally…
Nevertheless, it’s really great she was found alive.
