Police in Mihama, Mie Prefecture, said that a 14-year-old junior high school girl who had been missing since last month was found in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, on Tuesday morning and has been taken into protective custody. Police have arrested a 33-year-old man who was found with her on suspicion of kidnapping her, Fuji TV reported.
The suspect, Tomohisa Namikawa, is suspected of talking the student into running away from home and then confining her at his residence. Police said he got to know the girl on an online chat site.
According to police, Namikawa went to Mihama town to pick up the girl as she was on her way to school on the morning of Nov 18, the day she went missing. When she did not return home, her mother notified police.
Before her disappearance, the girl had used her smartphone to post messages about Namikawa, but she had not used her smartphone since Nov 17. Her online references to Namikawa led police to the suspect.
