RCMP investigate missing tourist
Police don't think woman from Japan is a victim of foul play
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, October 29, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife RCMP has a mystery on its hands as officers try to locate a missing Japanese tourist.
This image of Atsumi Yoshikubo, 45, was captured inside a Yellowknife store Oct. 19. RCMP say she hasn't been seen or heard from since Oct. 22. The Japanese tourist had been staying at the Explorer Hotel but didn't check out and missed her flight home. - photo courtesy RCMP G Division |
Atsumi Yoshikubo, 45, has not been seen or heard from for a week, according to RCMP spokesperson Elenore Sturko.
"She was last seen Oct. 22 walking away from the city, along Highway 4 toward Jackfish Lake," Sturko said.
Yoshikubo is described as being of Japanese descent, five foot, two inches tall, weighing about 100 pounds.
She has black hair and brown eyes.
Yoshikubo was last seen wearing a pink coat, pink hat, black pants and white shoes.
Sturko did not say why Yoshikubo was walking along the highway.
"This is not a criminal investigation. We have no reason to believe she is the victim of foul play," Sturko said.
"At this point it is a missing person investigation."
Officers were seen combing the back alley behind the Yellowknifer office Monday afternoon and a helicopter was seen circling over Frame Lake near the legislative assembly Tuesday afternoon.
Sturko said she couldn't confirm whether either action was part of the investigation into the woman's disappearance.
"What I can say it that we will leave no stone unturned as we try to locate her."
Rainer Launhardt, a spokesperson for Nunastar Properties, owners of the Explorer Hotel, confirmed Yoshikuro was staying at the hotel but had never checked out.
He would not confirm that her belongings were found in her room which had been reported by another media outlet.
Launhardt also wouldn't say whether hotel staff had reported her missing to RCMP.
Yoshi Shirakaki, a spokesperson at the Japanese Consulate in Calgary, confirmed Yoshikubo missed her flight home last Friday.
"She arrived in Yellowknife on Oct. 17, but she was not on her scheduled flight home," Shirakaki said.
Consular staff in Calgary are very worried about Yoshikubo's safety, he said.
"This is very unusual for a Japanese tourist in Canada to go missing," he said. "Depending upon what the RCMP can tell us, we may have to send a staff member to Yellowknife to try to help determine what has happened to her."
Shirakaki said his supervisor had been talking to officials from the Japan Foreign Ministry back home.
He said he didn't know whether she woman's family had yet been notified. It's believed the woman is from Chiba Prefecture, near the Greater Tokyo area, said Shirakaki. Yoshikubo had booked her flight through tour operator JonView Canada.
Company spokesperson Debbie Cabana said they are working with RCMP on the investigation. For confidentiality reasons, she could not divulge any more information about Yoshikubo, she said. If anyone has seen Yoshikuro or have information that could help police in their investigation they are asked to call RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
