Missing tourist mystery deepens
Atsumi Yoshikubo has not been seen or heard from since Oct. 22
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, October 31, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A missing person mystery continues to deepen in Yellowknife. There is still no sign of a Japanese tourist who hasn't been seen or heard from for nine days now.
Atsumi Yoshikubo: Forty-five-year-old tourist hasn't been seen or heard from for a week. |
Atsumi Yoshikubo, 45, was last seen walking along Highway 4 about 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 22 toward Jackfish Lake, according to RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko. She could not say who reported seeing her at that time.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Sturko confirmed the missing woman had been staying at the Explorer Hotel since Oct. 17, but never checked out and missed her flight home Oct 24.
"Her belongings were left in her room in a state that indicated she would be returning to it," Sturko said. She also said that the Mounties have no reason to believe Yoshikubo is the victim of foul play.
Several departments from the RCMP's G division have been employed in the investigation," said Sturko. "That includes dogs and aerial units."
Sturko said she has no indication the missing woman had fallen through ice. However, a helicopter has been seen several times this week flying over Frame Lake and Jackfish Lake where ice is only beginning to form.
Sturko said RCMP continues to utilize all available resources to locate Yoshikubo.
"Civilian volunteers from Yellowknife Search and Rescue have been continuing an extensive ground search outside and are continuing their ground searches in wooded areas around Yellowknife, particularly in remote tourist areas out on the Ingraham Trail," Sturko said.
The McMahon Frame Lake Trail, the ski trails near Giant Mine and the Giant Mine property have all been searched, Sturko said.
"Remote tourist areas out on the Ingraham Trail, like Cameron Falls have also been searched," Sturko said. "We'd like to hear from people who have searched on their own. Even if they didn't find anything we'd like to know what areas they covered. We just hope she's safe."
Sturko could not say whether Yoshikubo had rented a car in Yellowknife. She said she assumed staff at the Yellowknife Airport had been told to keep an eye out for her.
If people want to help in the search, Sturko encouraged them to contact Yellowknife Search and Rescue at 446-4727.
They have received tips from the public although she wouldn't go into details, said Sturko.
"What I will say is if you have any information on where she was seen or who she might have been talking to, you are urged to contact RCMP at 669-1111 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222 TIPS (8477)."
Sturko also cautioned would-be searchers to partner up before heading out. She said people need to tell others where they are going and when they are expected to return.
"We want our searchers to be safe," she said.
Volunteer searchers were out on the trails near the Yellowknife Ski Club on Highway 4 on Thursday morning.
Japanese media have also picked up on the story. U.S.-based crews from three Japanese television stations are now in Yellowknife.
Andy Bettag is a producer with Fuji Television Network News based in New York.
"I'd actually never heard of Yellowknife before we made plans to come here," he said. "Anytime there's a missing woman on foreign soil it's a big deal back in Japan, especially when they go missing in a rugged area like this."
Bettag said he had heard that Yoshikubo is a doctor back in Japan as has been reported by some media outlets. He said he couldn't confirm that nor could he confirm that she came to Yellowknife without telling her family, which has also been reported.
Japanese tourists are considered an important and essential part of the local tourism economy.
Leslie Campbell, a spokesperson for Industry Tourism and Investment, stated in an e-mail that 30,000 Japanese tourists have visited the NWT in the past two years. The numbers have been steadily increasing since 2001. The NWT has hosted over 60,000 visitors from Japan since 2008, she stated.
Most Japanese tourists book their trips here through travel agents in Japan and those trips include tour operators in Yellowknife, Campbell stated.
However, there is an increasing number of Japanese tourists travelling independently, not as part of a group. Those travellers use travel agents to book flights and accommodations but will book tours separately if at all, Campbell stated.
Yoshikubo had booked her trip through Montreal-based tour operator JonView Canada.
The company provides the flight and hotel accommodations only. That company partners with airline Transat. Debbie Cabana, a spokesperson for Transat, would only confirm that they were working with the RCMP.
She declined to release any specific information about Yoshikubo or what information she was given by JonView before she travelled to Yellowknife.
"That's the risk you run when you book your trip to Yellowknife from a company not based here," said Kota Kanamori, a tour manager for Aurora Village.
"We give out clients an orientation session as soon as they get here," he said.
"We tell our visitors from Japan about the cold, the dangers of frostbite and the fact they need to dress for it. We also warn them about the dangers of ice conditions in the North.
"Most of our Japanese visitors stay for three nights and four days," he said.
"Their schedule is pretty booked up so they don't have a lot of time to go wandering off on their own."
