NANTAN, Kyoto Prefecture—A two-week search for a missing 11-year-old boy has uncovered only one significant clue: his yellow backpack discovered on a remote mountain pass about 3 kilometers from his elementary school.
The disappearance of Yuki Adachi on the morning of March 23 has sparked a multi-agency, widening search operation in Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture.
But there have been no confirmed sightings or surveillance footage of the boy. The school principal has said it was “like he was spirited away.”
A team of 60 police officers on April 7 searched a forest and areas around buildings on a mountain near the boy’s home. they had found no clues on Adachi’s whereabouts by evening.
The search site is near a residential development project in the city’s Rurikei tourist area, where log cabins and cottages are clustered.
Police have mobilized personnel to areas around Sonobe Elementary School, where he attended, and the path where his backpack was found.
They expanded the search area on April 7 to include the vicinity of his home, located about 9 kilometers from the school.
3-HOUR DELAY
Adachi’s father told police he dropped the boy off at an after-school care facility on the grounds of the school around 8 a.m.
A critical delay followed.
Although a teacher noted Adachi’s absence 30 minutes later, the school did not contact his family for nearly three hours. Staff mistakenly believed that a notice that he would be absent on the following day was for that morning.
The school finally called the family at 11:50 a.m. after Adachi failed to appear when classes were dismissed.
His father reported him missing to the police around noon.
The boy did not have a cellphone or a GPS device.
At a briefing for parents on April 6, school officials apologized for their “mishandling” of the situation and confirmed new procedures had been established.
DRONES AND DIVERS
Some 640 police officers and more than 400 local fire brigade members have been mobilized for the search.
Teams using rubber boats and underwater drones have scoured reservoirs and irrigation canals, while others have searched the entire Sonobe district on foot.
Police are also following up on about 230 tips from the public.
Yet the only notable item recovered so far is Adachi’s school-issued backpack.
A relative found it on March 29 on a narrow, unlit mountain pass that is popular among cyclists, despite the lack of cellphone reception in the area.
The bright yellow backpack is designed specifically to be highly visible to drivers.
NO WITNESSES
Police have checked security cameras along his school route and at the nearest train station but have found no trace of him.
The lack of witnesses has shaken the tight-knit rural community of 29,000.
“It was during the time students were heading to school,” said Takeshi Ashikari, principal of Sonobe Elementary School. “A child walking in the opposite direction from school would be conspicuous. In a community where many people know each other, no one has reported seeing him so far.”
Even veteran responders have voiced frustration.
“With no sightings, we have no choice but to search blindly. I’ve never experienced a search like this,” Daiki Nonaka, 59, the local fire brigade chief with 30 years of experience, told reporters. “This is a life-or-death situation, and we want to find him safely as soon as possible.”
As the search continues, Adachi’s classmates are expected to start the new school year on April 8 without him.
Kyoto prefectural police are appealing for information and have released a description of Adachi.
He is 134.5 centimeters tall with a slim build and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a black and gray fleece sweatshirt with “84” on the chest, beige pants, and black sneakers.
(This article was written by Michitaka Sato, Ayaka Ishiyama and Tomoki Miyasaka.)
AloJapan.com