Girl, 10, turns up at grandfather's house after kidnap fear

Tuesday 18th November, 09:00 AM JST

KITAMI —

About 100 police were mobilized to earch for a 10-year-old girl Monday after her school backpack was found on the street near Kitami station in Kitami City. A passer-by noticed the school bag up against a tree at around 8.20 Monday morning, and told the police. The bag was identified as belonging to the girl, and after learning that her mother had dropped her off about half an hour before at her school, about 600 meters from where the bag was discovered, police concluded she might have been abducted or involved in some incident and mobilized around 100 officers.

Five hours later, her grandfather called police and told them the girl had walked to his house, some 18 kilometers away, and that she was OK. The girl said that she left her bag because it was heavy. She is also reported to have been saying on a daily basis that she didn’t want to go to school.

Buses run infrequently along the route the girl was thought to have taken, and houses were few and far between among the rice fields, perhaps explaining why there were few if any people who saw the girl walking alone, police said.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

nimbus at 10:07 AM JST - 18th November

Target of bullying at school perhaps?
timorborder at 10:10 AM JST - 18th November

Good they found this kid.
Proffessor at 10:23 AM JST - 18th November

A hundred police officers? Wow!
fatloser at 11:17 AM JST - 18th November

Leave it to the NPA to send 100 cops to investingate an empty bag or a unwanted love-doll!! Meanwhile, when a woman is stuck in her car and being drown by flood-waters the cops can't be bothered sending 1 guy to help.
airrunwesker at 11:22 AM JST - 18th November

Bullying at school! I agree. I am glas that her grandfather is the type someoen can turn to. This story could have had a very bad ending!
Philmoscowitz at 11:43 AM JST - 18th November

18 kilometers for a ten year old! impressive!
Philmoscowitz at 11:44 AM JST - 18th November

@ thepro: lol!
bamboohat at 12:57 PM JST - 18th November

poor kid. Must have been the longest walk of her life. Hope she never has to do that again, and I surely hope she won't be punished for this.
Disillusioned at 01:30 PM JST - 18th November

A hundred cops? That would be the entire Kitami force. Yet, they didn't find her. Ha, ha! - The fact this girl was so distraught she dodged school and walked 18k doesn't say much for her home environment. Glad to know she is safe and didn't suffer a similar fate to that of the four year old girl in Togane, whose killer is still at large.
norinrad21 at 01:44 PM JST - 18th November

I understand her, I had this specially relationship with my grandmother while growing up because she was the only person in the world who was never too busy to listen to what i had to say. She has always been there as long as i can remember. To make a long story short my relationship with my own parents never developed and my grandmother is the only family I have.

Awesome are grand parents :)

Good to hear she has a grand dad who listens to her
Molenir at 02:04 PM JST - 18th November

Glad the girl is safe. Hope they get her the help she needs in school, and don't just punish her for embarrassing them.
TPOJ at 03:17 PM JST - 18th November

100 cops? Why didn't her sister just call Totoro? :D
nidu at 05:41 PM JST - 18th November

The girl said that she left her bag because it was heavy

A very common problem with nearly all the school children of her age around the world
sensei258 at 06:32 PM JST - 18th November

To her parents, be glad she is safe, and don't punish her. This is a chance to turns things around.
presto345 at 08:50 PM JST - 18th November

Good work of the cops, I'd say. The police always seem to get so much flak here on JT. On another note, how kids experience school and cope with the world has so much to do with how things function in the family, how they have been prepared for associating with other individuals. Sad truth is that in so any families parents don't have enough time/energy to spend with their offspring.