higashinakano

A girl who was apparently held captive in Tokyo for two years has escaped and been reunited with her family.

Ana Saito was 15 years old when she disappeared on her way back from school in Saitama Prefecture on March 10, 2014.

The alleged kidnapper is a man named Kabu Terauchi, an engineering graduate of Chiba University, who is currently being treated in hospital after attempting suicide with a box cutter. He is expected to be formally arrested after he has recovered.

A police source said that the girl is claiming that her abductor tricked her by telling her that her parents were divorcing and saying he would accompany her to a lawyer’s office. Saito told police that she had been kept under close watch in at least two different apartments, after being forced to send a letter to her parents telling them not to look for her. However, not believing that she would simply run away, her parents continued their efforts to find her over the following two years. The final residence from which she escaped was in a residential area of Higashi-Nakano, in Tokyo, which raises questions as to how her whereabouts remained unknown in such a populated area.

Ana managed to escape on Sunday March 27 when Terauchi went out and left the door unlocked, calling police from a nearby payphone.

Most information being reported on the case comes from “police sources” and is still unconfirmed, so many details are yet to emerge. For now we’re glad to hear that Saito escaped unharmed, and wish her all the best for the future.

Source: The Independent
Image: Ick in Japan