SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Kerri Riehl drove her car past Atsumi Yoshikubo on Highway 4 between Niven Lake and Jackfish Lake more than two weeks ago now, she was struck by what she saw.

Kerri Riehl is believed to be one of the last people to see have seen missing Japanese tourist Atsumi Yoshikubo before she disappeared. She says the incident will likely haunt her forever. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo

"She was dressed in pink, she had on a pink coat and a pink hat, I thought, 'wow she's beautiful' - a Japanese tourist - then as I drove past her. I thought it might not be the best idea for her being alone," recalled Riehl, who was heading east - back into the city.

"I pulled off, actually, into the turnoff at the (legislative assembly) and I was going to turn around."

Although she stopped with the intention of going back for Yoshikubo, Riehl thought again, remembering that this year more than ever she has noticed a number of tourists walking around the area.

"I thought, it was only 11:30 a.m., she'll be OK, she looked relaxed, she wasn't stressed, she wasn't running or frantic. I just thought it was odd that she was alone," said Riehl.

"She looked like she was sightseeing and it was close to zero, it wasn't freezing cold, and her pink coat was knee-length and she had on mitts and a hat - she was dressed for that temperature."

Figuring the woman wanted to be alone, Riehl continued on her way.

"I didn't think about it again until a few days later, when I was coming home and my husband said there was a missing Japanese tourist, and she was dressed all in pink," said Riehl.

"I said, 'Oh my god, I saw her.'"

Giving her account to the RCMP, Riehl had no doubt that it was Yoshikubo she saw on the road that day but wasn't sure of the exact date, as she takes that route regularly.

RCMP have reported Yoshikubo was last seen on Oct. 22. They called off the search and rescue Nov. 4, stating they believed Yoshikubo deliberately sought to disappear and is now presumed dead.

"I felt terrible. I thought, 'oh my God, I should have stopped' and then you think the worst - I hope nothing has happened to her, you think everything from her getting lost, to hurt, to abducted and there's an eerie feeling when you definitely noticed her," said Riehl. "I just felt terrible. I didn't sleep much that night. We talked about it at work the next day and how important it is to listen to that little voice on your shoulder. When you think something is not quite right, stop and check it out, and I still feel badly. I wish I would've stopped and talked to her."

As many Yellowknifers did, Riehl said she followed the story closely.

"After a while, when I heard she had travelled here on her own, that was the first time that I thought, well, that doesn't make sense," she said.

"I thought there is something more to the story than her being lost."

When reports came out that Yoshikubo had intended to go missing, and the search and rescue was called off, Riehl said she wasn't surprised. Having retired after 20 years as an RCMP officer - some of that time stationed in Yellowknife - Riehl said she had previously worked on similar cases.

"I have no doubt that everything that could have been done was done, and there was an excellent investigation. People don't see the effort and the time and how it affects police officers, too," she said.

"Everybody is different, like every profession you have different personalities and people deal with things differently - that was a large portion of why I got out of the RCMP is after 20 years you see enough terrible things that don't go out of your memory and it's difficult."

RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko said just because police are no longer searching for a live person doesn't mean the case is closed.

"It's not that they're not still looking for her, but the way of searching and means of investigation are always driven by the investigation," said Sturko.

"So, they're continuing to still search and conduct different investigations and follow leads they're getting. It's just that the search and rescue is done. Just because that part is over, doesn't mean we're giving up."

Under RCMP policy, no search for a missing person is officially called off until the person is either found, alive or dead, or reaches 110 years old, said Sturko. Each missing person file is also required to be reviewed at least once annually, until closed.

Answers and closure are something Riehl said she hoped would be offered both to the community and to Yoshikubo's family and friends back in Japan. As for herself, she said the event is something that will stay with her.

"I will always wonder what happened or if I had stopped, if it would have made a difference in any way," said Riehl. "It was definitely life-changing for me. If I find myself in a similar situation, I'll definitely listen to my inner voice."

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