Mom Disappeared During Solo Hike in Japan. 17 Months Later, Her Backpack and a Single Shoe Were Found

"I have to hold out hope miraculously she is still alive, and until I hear otherwise, that’s the hope I’m holding onto," said Patricia Wu-Murad's husband

A backpack and a single shoe belonging to a Connecticut mom who went missing in Japan last year have been found, according to her family.

Patricia Wu-Murad, 61, was hiking the Kumano Kodo trail when she failed to show up at the guesthouse where she was scheduled to stay and was reported missing to local authorities on April 10.

Her family said the local police searched for 72 hours, but were unable to locate her, leading them to create a GoFundMe to raise money for private search and rescue teams.

However, despite their best efforts, the mother of three is still missing. But 17 months later, her family said they received a message from police that some of her belongings had been found, according to CBS affiliate WFSB and ABC station WTNH.

In a message from daughter Murphy Murad, which was posted on a Facebook group dedicated to finding the missing mom, "a person who was fishing in Totsukawa village found a backpack in a stream" on Sept. 15.

"He found Pattie’s email (which is more or less her name) and her family’s home address written on a ziplock bag inside the backpack, and he reported it to the Gojo Police Station,” Murphy wrote, sharing that the next day, police retrieved the backpack.

Related: 19 Years After a Hiker Vanished, Some of Her Personal Items May Have Been Found: ‘Glimmer of Closure’

They then searched the area and located a single shoe downstream from the backpack’s location. Both were located in a stream northeast of the Mandokoro guesthouse, where Wu-Murad was last seen.

“We were able to ascertain that all those things did belong to Patti, so we had some excitement and thought maybe this is a breakthrough,” her husband, Kirk Murad, told WFSB.

However, he went on to say that since then, they haven't gotten any updates. "Now we're back to frustration, he added.

Kirk, who recently moved out of state, told WTNH that he still has hope his wife of 33 years will be found alive. “I have to hold out hope miraculously she is still alive and until I hear otherwise that’s the hope I’m holding onto," he said.

Related: Hiker Found 'Alive, but Not Well' After Month-Long Disappearance: 'May Have Only Had Another Day Left'

The family raised over $200,000 in an effort to bring Wu-Murad home, but decided to stop accepting donations on June 10, 2023.

At the end of the emotional final update, Murphy shared a special message to her mother.

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"All of these people came together because of the profound influence you have had on our family and the impact you have had on so many different people around the world. In a time of chaos, thank you for reigniting everyone’s faith in humanity," she wrote. "Thank you for instilling in us the strength and resilience to keep moving forward each and every day without you by our side. Thank you for bringing us together with such incredible people, you have shown us the true essence of why you love these trips so much.

"We love you Mama," she added. "Thank you for being you."

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