Press "Enter" to skip to content

Man wanted in disappearance of Japanese student likely sent fake messages

Narumi Kurosaki was last seen at a dance class on December 4
Narumi Kurosaki was last seen at a dance class on December 4

FRANCE (TR) – A man wanted in connection with the disappearance of a female Japanese exchange student is believed to have sent fake messages to delay detection of the fact that she had gone missing, reports Fuji News Network (Dec. 27).

The principal of a language school attended by Narumi Kurosaki, 21, who is currently enrolled at the University of Franche-Comte in the city of Besancon, located in eastern France, said in an interview with the network that a friend received messages purported to be from the missing student on December 5 and thereafter.

The first message explained an absence from class “due to a visit to the consulate to take care of a passport problem,” according to the principal. After the friend responded, the person received another message “in broken French.”

The consulate was not able to confirm any such visit by Kurosaki, which has led police to believe that the messages were actually written by the man wanted in the case in an attempt to delay detection of his alleged kidnapping of her.

Kurosaki, a native of Tokyo who regularly attends the University of Tsukuba, was last seen on December 4, when she took a dance class. It is also known that Kurosaki and the man wanted in the case, aged in his 20s, dined together in a suburb of Bescancon that night, with the pair later returning together to her school dormitory.

Several students living in the same dormitory heard a scream late at night on December 4. However, no traces of blood or evidence of a struggle have been found inside Kurosaki’s room, according to TBS News (Dec. 27).

Local media have reported that the suspect was confirmed to have fled France for another country in Europe three days after Kurosaki disappeared. According to TV Asahi (Dec. 27), the suspect is from a country in either North America or South America.

Local police are aware of the messages sent to the friend, which stopped after the suspect fled the country, according to Fuji News Network.

Kurosaki began language studies at the University of Franche-Comte in September.