OKINAWA (TR) – Okinawa Prefectural Police have arrested a former U.S. serviceman after the discovery of a body likely that of a 20-year-old woman who had gone missing last month, reports the Okinawa Times (May 19).
On Thursday, police charged a 32-year-old former member of the U.S. Marine Corps with abandoning a body believed to be that of Rina Shimabukuro, a resident of Uruma City.
According to Jiji Press (May 19), the body was found in a northern part of the prefecture. The name of the suspect has not been made available.
The location of the body was revealed during questioning of the suspect. He had initially denied being involved in her disappearance.
At around 8:00 p.m. on April 28, Shimabukuro, a company employee, informed a man she is living with via the smartphone application Line that she was headed out for a walk. She has not been heard from since.
During the investigation, police learned that Shimabukuro’s smartphone stopped transmitting data between one and three kilometers from her residence, an area that includes a number of factories.
After an examination of security camera footage in the area at the time of her disappearance, a vehicle belonging to the ex-Marine, who is currently a civilian employed at Kadena Air Base, came under scrutiny.
Police are now working to confirm the identity of the corpse.