"Not Normal Appearance, Attention to Yuna's Father's Left Hand"... Scene Suspected by Missing Person Investigation Expert Who Watched CCTV

Last Captured on CCTV Near Wando Beach Accommodation
"Why Did the Mother Carry the 40kg Child on Her Back?"

Around 11 p.m. on the 30th of last month, footage from a closed-circuit television (CCTV) near a lodging facility close to Myeongsasimni Beach in Wando, Jeollanam-do, captured what is presumed to be the family of 10-year-old Jo Yuna. The footage showed a young child with a limp body, a woman carrying the child on her back, and a man holding a plastic bag in his left hand. Photo by YTN capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Regarding the case of the missing 10-year-old girl Joyuna and her family, who disappeared in Wando, Jeollanam-do after going on an outdoor experiential learning trip, a missing persons investigation expert stated that the appearance of Joyuna's family captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage "is not something commonly seen in families going on a trip." He pointed out the drooping appearance of Joyuna and the plastic bag held in the left hand of Joyuna's father as suspicious elements in the footage.

Professor Lee Geon-su, a missing persons investigation expert from the Department of Police Science at Baekseok University, responded this way during a phone interview on June 27 with YTN Radio's 'Wise Radio Life' when asked, "What peculiarities did you notice?" He said, "The most important factor in a missing persons case is the travel distance," adding, "There is footage of them entering the island initially, but no footage of them leaving, which strongly suggests that a problem likely occurred. This is clearly directly related to an accident."

Earlier, Joyuna's parents had applied to the school to take an outdoor experiential learning trip to Jeju from May 19 to June 16. However, when Joyuna did not attend school after June 16 and contact with her parents was lost, the school reported the disappearance to the police on June 22.

The last sighting of the missing Joyuna family was around 11 p.m. on May 30 in CCTV footage from a lodging near Myeongsasimni Beach in Wando. The footage shows the mother carrying a drooping Joyuna on her back and the father holding a plastic bag in his left hand as they leave the lodging and take the elevator. They then got into a silver Audi sedan in the parking lot and disappeared.

Some have focused on the fact that the mother was carrying the child on her back. It is considered unusual that the mother, not the father, carried Joyuna, who is 145 cm tall and weighs 40 kg. Additionally, in the CCTV footage, Joyuna’s hand hanging down loosely while being carried has raised suspicions that she might not simply be asleep but could have been under the influence of drugs or other substances.

Regarding this, Professor Lee pointed out, "First, the fact that they were moving late at night, during the early morning hours, and when accompanied by a child, the child should normally be able to move on their own. However, for some reason, whether the child was asleep or not needs to be confirmed, but it is strange that the child was carried on the mother’s back without normal consciousness."

He continued, "In an emergency situation, the father usually carries the child. But here, the mother, who appears to have no strength in her arms, is carrying the child on her back," adding, "The child’s unclear consciousness was very heartbreaking."

When asked, "What about the father’s appearance did you focus on?" he explained, "When people move, they usually take clothes and other belongings with them. But the father was only holding a small plastic bag in his left hand, which is not typical of a family going on a trip," and added, "It makes me think they might have come here for some other purpose."

Professor Lee also said, "The child is at an age where she would want to run around and play, yet she was reportedly confined to a room for several days, which is strange. These are not behaviors typical of a normal child," and claimed, "There is also the possibility that something was given to make the child sleep, such as some kind of drug."