The remains of a Connecticut woman who vanished while hiking in Japan over two years ago have been identified, her family said Saturday.
Patricia “Pattie” Wu-Murad, of Storrs, went missing while hiking the Kumano Kodo trail in central Japan on April 10, 2023. She was last seen checking out of a guesthouse around 7 a.m.
The 60-year-old mother of three was described by her husband of 33 years, Kirk Murad, as an experienced hiker who had traveled extensively around the world.
After an initial 72-hour search effort conducted by local authorities came up empty, her family took “matters into [their] own hands.” They hired a private team to continue with the effort, her daughter, Murphy Murad, wrote on a 2023 GoFundMe page set up to “help find Pattie and bring her home safe.”
For nearly a year and a half, an international team of professionals and volunteers — including U.S. and Japanese experts, the FBI, lawmakers and embassy officials — carried out a massive search-and-rescue effort, but no sign of her was ever found.
In September of last year, Japanese authorities began searching in a different area after Wu-Murad’s backpack and shoes were discovered near a stream in Totsukawa village. But once again, no evidence was found.
Then late last month, a member of the U.S. search team went back to Totsukawa and “discovered several of Pattie’s personal items and what appeared to be a femur,” her husband said Saturday in an update on the “Help Find Pattie” Facebook page.
DNA testing ultimately confirmed the remains were a match to Wu-Murad. The family was officially notified of her death on May 9, they said, describing the finality of the news as “heartbreaking.”
While the recent development offers Wu-Murad’s loved ones some form of closure, “many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie’s death,” her husband said.
Speaking with the Hartford Courant, Murad said the news “hit us like a ton of bricks,” even though the family had been bracing for the outcome.
“It’s final, you know. We had that glimmer of hope,” he said from New Mexico, where he now lives.
The family is now “working through international protocols” to bring Wu-Murad’s remains back to the U.S.
