ISHIKAWA (TR) – A missing man who plunged into a river in the town of Tsubata during a chase by police was later found dead, police said, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 15).
At around 12:15 am on February 13, police received a report about a “suspicious car” near the Tsubata River. However, the man behind the wheel of the vehicle drove off when an officer attempted to question him on a voluntary basis.
A patrol car arriving at the scene tailed his vehicle for at a slow pace for about 30 minutes over a distance of 10 kilometers.
After the pursued vehicle came close to striking the patrol car, an officer smashed one of its windows with a baton. The man then fled his vehicle and plunged into the river.
After an initial search of the river was called off, emergency personnel found his body in the water at around 9:10 a.m.
According to the Tsubata Police Station, the man, aged in his 40s, was a resident of Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture. His family lodged a missing persons report with the Toyama Prefectural Police in January.
“At this point, there is no problem with the handling [of the matter] and the actions were appropriate,” said the Tsubata Police Station.
