HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after skeletal remains possibly belonging to a man missing for two decades were found in a long-abandoned residence in Aioi City on Thursday, reports the Kobe Shimbun (Aug. 2).
At around 8:40 a.m., the male head of a demolition crew tipped off police about the discovery inside the two-floor residence, located in the town of Kugahonmachi.
According to the Aioi Police Station, the body, found lying face-up on the staircase, was clothed in a blue jacket, brown pants and athletic shoes.
Based on a hospital registration ticket found in the residence, police suspect that the body is that of a man in his 30s who went missing in 1998 after leaving home in Aioi for his office and not returning.
Thereafter, relatives of the man filed a missing persons report on him with police. The clothing found on the body also matches what the man was known to have worn, police said.
The residence, which has not been occupied for between 20 and 30 years, is located about 250 meters from JR Aioi Station.
Police are now seeking to confirm the identity of the body.
