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Japanese tourist missing from Karwar traced in Kerala: Police
On Wednesday night, the woman sent a message to her husband, informing him that she was safe in Thiruvananthapuram and had gone there for her own happiness
The location of the Japanese woman who went missing from Gokarna in Karwar district has been traced to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, police said.
Ami Yamazuki, a 40-year-old woman who arrived in Gokarna with her husband Thai Yamazuki on February 3, was reported missing the following morning. Thai filed a missing person report with the Gokarna police, who promptly notified the Japanese embassy in New Delhi, said Gokarna police inspector Vasant Acharya.
“The couple had booked a suite at the Banglegudda Resort Nature Camp in Gokarna on February 3, and the woman was reported missing the next morning. Her location could not be traced as she was using a Japanese SIM card. Efforts to track her location using her husband’s cellphone proved futile as she had switched her cellphone to ‘turn off mode,’ making it untraceable until switched back to ‘turn on mode’,” Acharya said. “We deployed several teams, alerted the sea watching guard, and life-saving squads to search for the missing woman,” he added.
On Wednesday night, the woman sent a message to her husband, informing him that she was safe in Thiruvananthapuram and had gone there for her own happiness.
After arriving in New Delhi from Japan, the couple visited Thiruvananthapuram before reaching Gokarna. Upon receiving the message from her husband, a team of three police officers, including two female personnel, along with her husband, left for Thiruvananthapuram by train, Inspector Acharya said. “We have also officially informed the Thiruvananthapuram police about the matter, who have already located the woman and are monitoring her movements,” he added.
Based on information provided by her husband about their marital life, Inspector Acharya stated that the couple, married for seven years, had no children. Their marriage appeared troubled, with the woman often expressing disinterest in her husband and indicating a desire to end the relationship through messages. Her husband informed the police that she had been undergoing treatment for a mental illness for the past two years.
“Her husband showed us the list of medications she has been taking for the past two years and also mentioned that she sometimes behaves abnormally. Both came to India, particularly to Gokarna, for the woman to receive natural treatment at the Banglegudda nature camp,” Acharya said.
“We learned that there was a dispute between the couple, and the woman left for Thiruvananthapuram of her own volition. We are pleased to have located her, and we appreciate the steps taken by the Kerala police to ensure her safety,” the inspector said. Upon the arrival of the Karnataka police at the location, the Kerala police took the woman into custody and, after completing the necessary procedures, handed her over to the state police.
“As a missing person case has been filed with the Gokarna police, the woman will be brought back here, and after completing the procedures, she will be allowed to leave,” Acharya added.
