SINGAPORE: Kirk Murad, a former Head Coach of the Singapore Women’s Basketball Team, confirmed in a recent social media post the death of his wife, Patricia “Pattie” Wu-Murad, more than two years after she had gone missing while on a hike in Japan.
The 60-year-old Ms Wu-Murad was last seen on Apr 10, 2023, at the Mandokoro guesthouse in Totsukawa, a village around 110 kilometres southeast of Osaka, Japan. She had planned to hike an ancient pilgrimage route called the Kumano Kodo trail.
Mr Murad coached basketball in Singapore from 2014 to 2017. Ms Wu-Murad also worked in Singapore. Beginning in 2013, she was the manager for International Trade Compliance for United Technologies Aerospace Systems.
In an Apr 10 Facebook post, Mr Murad wrote that his wife had moved their family to Singapore twice because of her work: “And in doing so gave me the gift of coaching at the highest level.”
On May 17, he wrote that despite extensive search efforts involving both Japanese and American search and rescue professionals, as well as law enforcement and other officials, “No trace of Pattie was found in the months following her disappearance.”
Last September, however, Ms Wu-Murad’s backpack and one of her hiking shoes were found near a stream closer to a different trail from where her family originally believed she had been hiking. Afterwards, the Japanese police searched the area for several days, although nothing more was found.
Late last month, a member of the original US search team in Japan returned to the area near where the backpack had been found and discovered more of Ms Wu-Murad’s personal items, as well as what they believed to be a femur. After the bone was tested, Ms Wu-Murad’s family was told that it was a match through comparison with her daughter’s DNA.
“Although we had tried to prepare ourselves for this outcome, the finality of this news is heartbreaking. It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie’s death. We now begin the process of working through international protocols to bring her remains home,” added Mr Murad, who also thanked everyone who aided and supported the family both in the US and Japan.
“Pattie was an incredible woman whose love and friendship touched many lives. While we are devastated, we are also humbled by the global community that rallied to help find her. We will continue to honour her memory with love and gratitude in our hearts.
With love and thanks, Kirk, Rachel, Murphy, and Bryce,” he wrote. /TISG
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