'Missing' Gwangju Elementary Student's Family Investigation Enters Fifth Day... Police Expand Search

Disappearance After Arriving at Wando by Passenger Car
Last Seen After Mobile Phone Base Station Signal Around 4 AM on the 31st of Last Month

The Missing Persons Investigation Team of Gwangju Nambu Police Station issued a missing alert on the 24th for 10-year-old Jo Yuna and her parents, a family of three residing in Nam-gu, Gwangju, and launched an investigation to find them.
[Photo by National Police Agency, captured from the 'Safety Dream' website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The investigation into the whereabouts of a missing elementary school student family from Gwangju, who disappeared during an experiential learning trip, has entered its fifth day without any meaningful clues.

According to the Gwangju Nambu Police Station on the 26th, Jo (10), who lived in Nam-gu, Gwangju, and her parents applied to the school for a family experiential learning trip from the 19th of last month to the 15th of this month, and went missing in Wando, Jeollanam-do.

The school reported Jo missing to the police on the 22nd after she did not attend school on the 16th, the scheduled end date of the experiential learning.

Following the report, the police investigated through mobile phone location tracking, closed-circuit television (CCTV), and inquiries, revealing that Jo’s family crossed the Gogeum Bridge by car around 2 p.m. on the 29th of last month and entered Wando. They were found to have stayed at a pension in Sinji-myeon, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do for three days starting that day.

On the 30th of last month, the family left the pension by car around 11 p.m., and the next day, around 4 a.m., signs of life such as mobile phone base station signals were detected near Songgok Port in Sinji-myeon, Wando-gun, after which their whereabouts became unknown.

The police are currently struggling with the search due to a lack of clues to confirm the family’s movements after that.

Earlier, Jo’s parents reportedly told the school that their destination was Jeju Island. However, no evidence of visiting Jeju Island or participating in a rural one-month living experience in the Wando area has been found yet.

The police have disclosed Jo’s real name, photo, and the make and license plate number of the car used by the family to residents of Gwangju, their place of residence, and Wando, their last known location, and are receiving tips.

Jo’s parents are in their mid-30s and are known to have closed their business at the end of last month; currently, they have no known workplace or business.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating all possibilities, including a vehicle crash. As the whereabouts remain unknown for the fifth day, the police expanded the search operation by mobilizing over 100 personnel in a single day.