My family and I urgently need your help. My name is Murphy Murad, daughter of Patricia Wu-Murad, a U.S. citizen who has gone missing while hiking the Kumano Kodo trail in Japan. My mother was reported missing to local authorities on Monday evening, April 10, and despite a 72-hour search and rescue effort, she has yet to be found. Our family was notified by the U.S. Embassy on Friday, April 14, and we are desperate to find her.

We have been pleading with local authorities to continue the search, but unfortunetly, we have had zero luck. We now need to take matters into our own hands, hire a private search and rescue mountain crew (est. $10,000), fly out to Osaka (est. $5,000), and begin looking for her ourselves. Additionally, the cost of hiring a helicopter for aerial search (a highly important resource to cover as much ground as possible) is roughly $1,600 per hour.

We will also need to cover insurance, accommodation, guides to lead us through the unfamiliar terrain, and other expenses that we can’t even begin to comprehend at the moment.

We are reaching out to you, our friends, family, and community to help us raise funds to cover these expenses. Every dollar counts and any amount you can contribute will make a significant difference in our efforts to find our mom and wife. We are determined to bring her home safely, but we cannot do it alone.

Please consider donating to our GoFundMe campaign and share our link. We appreciate your support and positive thoughts during this difficult time. Let’s find Pattie and bring her home.