Father Claimed Son Was Missing Before Disappearance

Apr 20, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - A 37-year-old father arrested over the alleged abandonment of his son's body in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture may have contacted associates to say the child had gone missing before the boy's school informed the family, investigators said.

Yuki Adachi, a company employee from Sonobecho in Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, has been arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 11-year-old son, Yuki, an elementary school student, in a mountain forest area in the city.

Police said Adachi has admitted to the allegation.

According to investigative sources, Adachi told authorities voluntarily before his arrest that he drove his son toward school by car on March 23, but then took him to another location and killed him.

He has also reportedly said that after leaving the body at the initial site, he later moved the remains to a different location.

Adachi initially explained that he dropped the boy off near the school at around 8 a.m. on March 23.

The school realized the child was missing and contacted the boy's mother by telephone at around 11:45 a.m. However, investigators now say Adachi had already called related parties before that, saying, 'My child has gone missing.'

He later contacted police himself, saying he had taken the child to school but was told the boy had never arrived when he went to pick him up.

Police seized a vehicle from Adachi's home on April 17 and are examining whether it was used to transport the child and move the body.

The boy was reported missing after failing to arrive at school. Security camera footage near the school did not capture him, and no witnesses reported seeing him that day.

His body was discovered on April 13 in a lightly traveled forested mountain area in Nantan, about 2 kilometers southwest of his elementary school and roughly 8 kilometers from his home.

Investigators believe the body was moved several times before being found, possibly in an attempt to avoid detection.

The boy's school bag was found on March 29, followed by shoes believed to be his on April 12. Each discovery site was several kilometers apart.

An autopsy confirmed the body's identity. Police said no clear external injuries, including stab wounds, were found, and determining the exact cause of death may take several months.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the killing, the movement of the body and a possible motive.

Source: TBS

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