Two months after his wife went missing, a man has revealed that he has a ‘gut’ feeling about his missing loved one.
Patricia 'Pattie' Murad embarked on a solo hiking trip in Japan back in April when the 60-year-old suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Now her husband, Kirk Murad, believes his wife may have never ‘entered that trail’ with his instincts telling him to fear the worst.
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Prior to her sudden disappearance, Pattie - a US citizen - had been due to hike the mountainous Kumano Kodo trail - completing a 11 mile section of the region.
She had been staying at the Mandokoro guesthouse, but concerns were soon raised soon after she failed to check in at her hostel in Osaka.
Japanese authorises did an extensive search of the area, who were later joined by a 34-person strong rescue team from the US.
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However, the rescue groups were unable to find the Connecticut woman and authorities officially called off their search on May 7 due to an 'underwhelming amount of evidence found'.
Now, Kirk believes his wife never made it to the trail, with the devoted husband believing that Pattie may have been abducted.
"My gut tells me that Pattie perhaps trusted the wrong person by accepting a ride and became a victim," Kirk told press after the search was called off by authorises.
However, the 61-year-old acknowledges that 'there is no evidence that occurred’ and now fears that his wife may have befriended the wrong person on her travels.
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"I think she struck up a conversation with someone and trusted them enough to accept a ride from them” he confessed. “Her toe was giving her problems, so it's possible she accepted a ride and then was abducted.”
Eager to find the missing woman, Kirk and his daughter Murphy are now hoping mobile phone data might hold the key to solving the ongoing case.
“The police told us telecoms have said they don't have any data, but we're not accepting that answer at face value,” he revealed – adding that he has asked the FBI to join in the search for Pattie.
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The pair had been due to travel to Spain later this month, on June 16, with another extensive two-month holiday planned later in the year.
“She loved meeting new people, sharing stories, and being out in nature,” he added. “That is why I need to keep story alive in Japan and back home so that someone will read the story and remember seeing something...anything.”
The family are continuing the search and have set up a GoFundMe page to fundraise.
Katherine Sidnell