Pattie Wu-Murad
DNA testing has confirmed that the human remains found in Japan last month are that of Patricia “Pattie” Wu-Murad.
Wu-Murad, 60, of Storrs, Connecticut, was last seen in April 2023 after checking out of a guesthouse along the Kumano Kodo trail in Nara Prefecture, where she had been hiking solo. Despite extensive search efforts—funded in part by more than $200,000 raised by her family—she remained missing until this spring.
In September 2024, a fisherman discovered a backpack and a shoe near a stream in Totsukawa village, prompting a renewed search. On April 27, 2025, a member of the original search team located human remains and additional personal belongings in the same area.
“On Friday, May 9, 2025, our family received confirmation that our beloved Wife, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, and Friend, Pattie Wu-Murad, is deceased,” the family wrote on the Facebook group Help Find Pattie.
“It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie’s death,” the family said.
They plan to hold a private ceremony once her remains are returned to the United States and are urging caution for solo hikers, especially on remote trails, encouraging the use of GPS tracking devices.