MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 2001-47
Asami Chida
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Jurisdiction:
Missing From:
Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
Summary:
Asami Chida, a 16-year-old Hokkaido Muroran Sakae High School student, disappeared on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 6, 2001, in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan after being last seen on security camera footage at a shopping mall and then boarding a bus to head to her part-time bakery job. The case remains unsolved, though hundreds of tips have been received over the years and several theories have been suggested regarding her disappearance.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 6, 2001, Asami's school was closed because of entrance exams. Asami was last seen on security camera footage at the Muroran Saty (presently Aeon Muroran Store) in the Higashimachi locality of Muroran, where she was seen talking to a friend in the store. She was caught on CCTV arriving at a cosmetics store at 1:03 PM and leaving at 1:26 PM, then was seen waiting at a bus stop and called her boyfriend at 1:41 to say she had arrived at work. When the bakery manager said he closed the store at 1:30 PM after realizing Asami wasn't coming, she vanished without a trace and was never seen again.
Additional Details:
Asami was described as an excellent student who earned high grades, didn't skip school, and had many friends; the bakery owner described her as cheerful and having a good customer service attitude. However, according to the bakery owner, Asami had been receiving many prank calls on her cellphone prior to her disappearance and had avoided working night shifts. A person of interest or suspect in the case was the owner of the bakery that Asami was scheduled to have training with the afternoon she went missing; he presented an alibi and stated he was with his mother at the time of the disappearance, and was kept under police surveillance, questioned, and his house and car were searched. More than 40,000 investigators have been assigned to the case. Missing posters with her photo have been displayed in Muroran for decades, and the National Research Institute of Police Science created an image of her possible appearance in her 30s. Since her disappearance, the Muroran Police Station has received 273 tips. The police did not begin the investigation until 11 days after the disappearance.
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
Her boyfriend called again around 4 PM after the last call, but from then on, there were no more calls from Asami
When her boyfriend called again at 1:46 PM, she said 'I can't talk right now, so I'll call you back later' and immediately hung up the phone
She called her boyfriend at 1:41 PM to say she had arrived at work
She left the cosmetics store at 1:26 PM
She was caught on CCTV arriving at a cosmetics store at 1:03 PM
Asami walked to the Hakuchodaichuo bus stop and took a bus bound for Higashimachi Terminal, which departed at 12:25 PM
Asami left her home in Hakuchodai around 11:30 AM
Associated Persons
C. (Parents) - Living
(. (Boyfriend) - Living
B. (Person of Interest) - Living
C. (Sibling) - Living
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