STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — Search efforts for a Storrs woman who went missing while hiking in Japan in April have ended, according to her family.
Details were announced Sunday in a post from Murphy Murad in the family’s GoFundMe for the search.
“If we had the time, resources and financial capacity to search every trail in the area with as much depth and precision as we did this one, we would,” Murphy Murad wrote. “However, the reality is all search efforts have ended as of May 30 due to the underwhelming amount of evidence found.”
Patricia Wu-Murad went missing on April 10 after she never arrived at her next hostel while hiking the Kumano Kodō trail. The 60-year-old was last seen a quarter mile from the trail.
“When the calendar turned to June it hit me hard,” her husband, Kirk Murad, said. “The reality — it’s June, and we still haven’t found her.”
Teams from both the U.S. and Japan have searched the area, dozens of interviews have been conducted and more than $200,000 was raised in the GoFundMe to fund the efforts. According to the family, there is no evidence that Wu-Murad was ever on the trail, and they have not ruled out if her disappearance was criminal.
Now, typhoon season has virtually ended the search until October.
Kirk Murad said he is “Heartbroken, frustrated and sad.”
“We’re determined to find her,” he said. “Just despite all our efforts, we have no clue.”
In recent weeks, the family has been able to track down trail runners who were in the area at the time, and a man who had approached a female hiker a few days after Wu-Murad went missing. The man had asked the other hiker if she’d go home with him to help him practice his English.
While the man has been found, Murphy Murad wrote that he “has been deemed unsuspicious.”
“It turns out he was not targeting solo female hikers, and instead was confronting any man, woman, or couple that seemingly spoke English,” Murphy Murad wrote. “His alibi on April 10 was confirmed and was relatively far from the village where Patricia went missing.”
The runners did not point to any leads, either. The family was able to get information about construction on the trail, but there “was no known activity” the day Wu-Murad disappeared.
“At this point, the police are unable to provide any leads regarding criminal behavior but will provide the family with biweekly reports,” Murphy Murad wrote.
Kirk Murad refuses to let the search turn cold.
“Certainly, I am hoping for the best,” he said. “I am hoping whether it’s amnesia, or something along those lines. I’m not giving up hope. That’s my only thought. I have to think that. She’s out there, she didn’t disappear.”
The family is frustrated that it’s currently unable to get her last known location from nearby cell phone towers. Kirk Murad said he’ll stay in Singapore for the next two weeks with his daughter to try and get it done.
Leftover money from the GoFundMe has been set aside in case new information appears. New leads will also be followed.
The GoFundMe will stop accepting donations on June 10.
Murphy Murad’s post ends by sharing gratitude for donors, search and rescue team members, law enforcement authorities and others.
“And, finally, to Mom, thank you,” she wrote. “All of these people came together because of the profound influence you have had on our family and the impact you have had on so many different people around the world. In a time of chaos, thank you for reigniting everyone’s faith in humanity. Thank you for instilling in us the strength and resilience to keep moving forward each and every day without you by our side. Thank you for bringing us together with such incredible people, you have shown us the true essence of why you love these trips so much.”