News German student goes missing in Wakayama

[thomas]

This went viral on social media before news outlets picked it up: a German tourist disappeared in Wakayama.

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Wakayama Prefectural Police have announced that a 21-year-old German male university student who entered Japan as a tourist in late September and travelled around Wakayama City has gone missing. According to the police, Claudio Worm entered Japan on a tourist visa on 21 September. After touring Tokyo, he entered Wakayama Prefecture on 30 September. Then, at around 5 a.m. on 10 October, Worm exchanged messages with his mother on social media about photos and memories of the trip. Since then, his whereabouts have become unknown. On 15 October, a Japanese friend of Worm's father contacted the headquarters of the Wakayama Prefectural Police. "The son of a friend living in Germany went on a trip to Japan but has not yet returned to Germany even though school has started," the friend said.

According to police, a man believed to be Worm was seen in security camera footage entering Wakayama on 30 September. He was later seen on security camera footage near Nankai Electric Railway's Wakayamashi Station at around 8:30 p.m. on 11 October. Worm's passport and mobile phone were also found near Wakayama Station.

German tourist goes missing in Wakayama - TokyoReporter

German tourist goes missing in Wakayama

www.tokyoreporter.com

【速報】旅行中のドイツ人大学生が10日前から行方不明　東京都内を観光後に和歌山へ　SNSで母親とのやり取り最後に連絡途絶える　警察が情報提供呼びかけ（MBSニュース） - Yahoo!ニュース

9月下旬に日本へ観光で入国し、和歌山市内を旅行していたドイツ人の21歳の男子大学生が行方不明になっていると警察が発表しました。 　行方不明になっているのは、ドイツ国籍の大学生・クラウディオ・ヴォ

news.yahoo.co.jp

 

[nice gaijin]

oh no, it doesn't bode well that his phone and passport were found, but he hasn't contacted anyone for help getting these things back. Hoping for a happy resolution

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Maybe It pops into my mind because someone was just killed by a train here the other day. Has anyone ever been hit by one of Japan's 200MPH trains?

 

[nice gaijin]

Maybe It pops into my mind because someone was just killed by a train here the other day. Has anyone ever been hit by one of Japan's 200MPH trains?

in a word, yes. There isn't usually much left, but as far as I know, there aren't any 人身事故 (accident involving a human body) that go unnoticed.

 

[thomas]

Yes, it's rare, but there have been collisions with Shinkansen before: here, here, and here. Shinkansen tracks are fenced off with barbed wire; theoretically, one could only access them from the platform or jump from an overpass.

Although it can't be ruled out, it would be unusual for a tourist to commit suicide, and in Wakayama, of all places.

 

[thomas]

According to Wakayama Prefectural Police, forty items, including Claudio Worm's passport, were found in a multi-purpose toilet near Kinokawa River. A woman crossing the Kitajima Bridge on Oct. 12 discovered his smartphone. Although unconfirmed, German websites reported that sources close to the young man revealed that he bought a one-way ticket to Japan. Allegedly, his father's death six years ago had left a severe impact on him.

40 belongings of missing German student found by river in Japan city: police - The Mainichi

WAKAYAMA -- Forty items including a passport and smartphone belonging to a missing German student were found in this west Japan city, the Mainichi Shi

mainichi.jp

ドイツ人大学生行方不明事件　１２日未明に友人に連絡か　友人「異変感じなかった」（ABCニュース） - Yahoo!ニュース

和歌山市で今月１０日以降、連絡が取れなくなったとされているドイツ人大学生が、１２日未明にドイツ在住の友人と連絡を取り合っていたことが分かりました。この友人は「異変は感じなかった」と証言しています。

news.yahoo.co.jp

 

[thomas]

Just before 2:50 p.m. on November 1, the Wakayama Coast Guard received a report about a body floating face-up off the coast of Takurazaki. The body was clothed only in jeans. A DNA analysis conducted on the body confirmed that it was that of Claudio Worm, 21, who entered Japan on a tourist visa on September 21. Due to the stage of decay of the body, an autopsy was unable to determine the cause of death, police said.

Body of missing German tourist found off Wakayama coast - TokyoReporter

Body of missing German tourist found off Wakayama coast

www.tokyoreporter.com

行方不明のドイツ人大学生、和歌山市沖で遺体発見　死因は不明 | 毎日新聞

和歌山県警は5日、9月30日に来県し、10月10日に母親とSNSで連絡を取ったのを最後に行方不明になっていたドイツ人の男子大学生（21）が和歌山市沖で遺体で見つかったと発表した。県警はこれまでの足取りや経緯などについて調べている。

mainichi.jp