44-year-old man arrested for alleged kidnapping of high school girl

Jan 24, 2018 | News On Japan

Jan 24, 2018 (Japan Today) - Police in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, have arrested an unemployed 44-year-old man on suspicion of kidnapping a 16-year-old high school girl who lives in Tochigi Prefecture.

According to police, the suspect, Koji Okohara, met the girl on a members-only social networking site and invited her to his home, despite knowing that she was underage, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said Okohara sent a message in which he encouraged the girl to run away from home.

Police said on the morning of Jan 20, the girl told her mother that she would be â€œstudying with friendsâ€ after being dropped off at a train station near their home. Soon after, she phoned and asked her mom to read a letter that she left back at home.

After calling her mother, the girl met up with Okohara who took her to his residence where she stayed until the next day.

Meanwhile, the girlâ€™s mother read the note in which her daughter disclosed how she wanted to run away because of worries concerning her studies and friendships. That night, her father filed a missing personâ€™s report, and police swiftly launched an investigation into her whereabouts.

Police were able to identify and locate Okohara after the girl sent him a package by takkyubin addressed to his home on the morning she left home to meet him.

Police said the girl was unharmed when they found her at Okoharaâ€™s home on Jan 21.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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