TOCHIGI (TR) – The mother of a French woman who went missing in a mountainous area of Nikko City has arrived in Japan to help with search efforts, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 20).
Tiphaine Veron, 36, has not been seen after she departed a lodge to go trekking on July 29. On August 18, her mother, Anne, arrived in Japan to support Tochigi Prefectural Police in the ongoing search.
“For two weeks, I cried, cried and cried,” Anne said. “I can’t live if my daughter is not found.”
Veron arrived in Japan as a tourist on July 27. The following day, she checked into the lodge in the Takumicho area of Nikko for a two-night stay.
Traveling alone, Veron departed the lodge after breakfast at around 10:00 a.m. on July 29. The male manager of the lodge did not see her again, police said.
A search of her room revealed her passport and luggage. A note left in the room included a list of sightseeing locations in the area, including the World Heritage site Toshogu Shrine, police said.
Members of her family arrived in Japan to assist in the search on August 4. Her mother sent a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron in seeking his help with the ongoing search.
Earlier this month, police revealed that a male mountain climber, aged in his 70s, reported seeing a foreign woman descending Mt. Nakimushiyama on a trail to Kanmangafuchi Abyss on the day Veron was last seen. A search party of about 80 persons later scoured the area. However, the effort did not result in any progress.
“I am praying,” said Anne while crying. “I am searching for you. I will not abandon you. I will never give up. We will do everything we can do.”
Police plan to focus the search on rivers and mountains near the lodge beginning on Tuesday.
