GUNMA (TR) – Police are making a fresh appeal to the public for information at the 30-year mark since a 4-year-old girl vanished from a pachinko parlor in Ota City, reports TBS News (July 5).
On July 7, 1996, Yukari Yokoyama disappeared without a trace from the bustling gambling venue. Security camera footage from that day captured chilling evidence: an unidentified man approaching and speaking to the young girl shortly before she vanished.
Police continue to relentlessly pursue this man as a key person of interest in the cold case.
“We want to find this male person of interest at all costs, question him thoroughly, and safely locate and protect Yukari,” said Hiroshi Kosuge, Chief of the Gunma Prefectural Police Criminal Investigation Division.
On the day of the appeal, police officers and volunteers canvassed a large commercial facility in Ota City, handing out flyers and urging shoppers to come forward with any clues.
Over the past three decades, investigators have received 5,927 tips from across the nation. According to police, approximately 80 percent of those reports are related to the mystery man seen in the surveillance footage.
In a renewed bid to crack the case, prefectural police have released newly edited video footage of the suspect.
“Even a single piece of information could be the catalyst we need to advance this investigation,” Chief Kosuge stated, imploring the public to help bring the decades-long mystery to a close.
Persons with information on the case are advised to call the Ota Police Station at 0276-33-0110.
