GUILTY Canada - Natsumi Kogawa, 29, Vancouver, 7 Sept 2016

[Daephine]

I've been looking at different news articles online and I've gotten confused about where she was last seen. A bunch say she was last seen at her home in Burnaby... so I'm not sure why the missing location is Vancouver? Can anyone explain?

Also, it was interesting for me to find that it was actually her boyfriend who reported her missing on September 12, according to http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2016/09...h-for-missing-esl-student/?platform=hootsuite. It also says she was last seen September 7 at her home.

In the Find Natsumi fb page, it is written that she stopped reading friends' phone messages (on an app called "Line") on September 8 after 11:21am. She was supposed to meet a friend that day.

 

[MaxRx]

I've been looking at different news articles online and I've gotten confused about where she was last seen. A bunch say she was last seen at her home in Burnaby... so I'm not sure why the missing location is Vancouver? Can anyone explain?
.l.

This rough timeline provided by her friends might help:

http://archive.is/JUs1K

Also, if you check my previous post, it indicates the following with Google map links...

The woman lives in a share house in Burnaby, BC ...a city directly adjacent ( East) of Vancouver; the closest station is Holdom Station. Apparently , she lived only 2-3 min away from the station.

The ESL school she attended, Ksplan, was located in downtown Vancouver on Robson Street.... about 25 min away from Holdom Station to Burrard Station on what they call the "Sky Train".

In addition to establishing a rough timeline of her whereabouts based on her usual schedule, the last time her friends saw her in person, and messages exchanged on LINE etc. they ( police ) initially searched for both the downtown area and the area near her home in Burnaby. However, I believe later on, evidence from CCTV cameras at the SkyTrain stations as probably sone confirmation of her whereabouts based on her LINE usage seemed to indicate she went missing in Burnaby. However as news reports also indicate, her home did not appear to have been ransacked or other signs of a struggle or forcible entry etc.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

She would have an address on file if she wanted to work (Social Insurance Number or SIN) and/or if she had signed up for (MSP) health insurance coverage. Not sure how it works for Japan but Americans may enter and stay in Canada for up to six months without a visa (but you must have a passport). If you are going to stay longer then you would have to apply for a study or work permit which is a bit more rigorous. My study permit is good for 2.5 years with some stipulations. If you want to stay longer you must apply pretty far in advance to extend your permit.

Native Japanese speaker here (have worked as a professional English-Japanese interpreter/translator also). One of the articles slowpoke mentioned in post #17 reports that Natsumi arrived in Canada in May, took classes at a language school in Vancouver (i.e., Kaplan; in the accompanying video, it is stated that the photo of Natsumi in a cap and gown was taken at her "graduation" from Kaplan) through the end of July and was hoping to start working in Vancouver beginning in October.

I also found information on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's website, which leads me to believe that Natsumi would have been allowed to stay in Canada for up to six months, or until sometime in November, without a visa:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1016&top=16
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

I really don't think this is a case of someone who left willingly because she wanted to continue to stay in Canada even if it meant illegally. One of the things that concerns me is that she was trying to find a job; she could have gone with someone with a promise of work and then things went awry from there.

 

[slowpoke]

Thirty-year-old Natsumi Kogawa was reported missing by her boyfriend in Vancouver on September 12th, 2016

http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2016/09...h-for-missing-esl-student/?platform=hootsuite

Question: Who is the boyfriend referenced, who reported her missing (thank you, Daephine). It isn't one of the two names we've heard so far, is it? JV or YA? JV is the one who seems to be the one we see in the interviews and media, but I'm not sure of the nature of his relationship with Natsumi. A very close friend, at the very least, it sounds. But is he the boyfriend? If it wasn't for that one link I gave, I don't know that we would have heard of YA (although I could be mistaken about that).

Also, who is the friend who was the one she sent her last LINE message to, and was supposed to meet up with that evening? Is that person's alibi checking out fine?

I'm glad to see a native Japanese speaker on this thread...inmyhumbleopinion, thank you for translating that updated text to that link I gave. I had tried putting that text into google translate,but it was a very rough and hard to understand translation. Not very useful. For example, google translated that "from October was going to commit in Vancouver" for what you have told us is that she was hoping to start working in Vancouver beginning in October.
The pinfluencer link put thru google translate:
https://translate.googleusercontent...kusei/&usg=ALkJrhhVDkta72zf9ZrbeHCzbB6eK1OzRQ

 

[Satchie]

I've been looking at different news articles online and I've gotten confused about where she was last seen. A bunch say she was last seen at her home in Burnaby... so I'm not sure why the missing location is Vancouver? Can anyone explain?

Burnaby is a primarily a bedroom community in Metro Vancouver, so unless you're giving specific directions, it's often called Vancouver.

 

[Satchie]

BBM:


Is it odd the Burnaby RMCP don't know who Natsumi "was staying with"? We have read she lived in a "shared house". So, wouldn't they know who she was staying with?

She may have been staying elsewhere full or part-time, or perhaps there are claims she was staying somewhere else that LE are keeping quiet about.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2016/09...h-for-missing-esl-student/?platform=hootsuite

Question: Who is the boyfriend referenced, who reported her missing (thank you, Daephine). It isn't one of the two names we've heard so far, is it? JV or YA? JV is the one who seems to be the one we see in the interviews and media, but I'm not sure of the nature of his relationship with Natsumi. A very close friend, at the very least, it sounds. But is he the boyfriend? If it wasn't for that one link I gave, I don't know that we would have heard of YA (although I could be mistaken about that).

Also, who is the friend who was the one she sent her last LINE message to, and was supposed to meet up with that evening? Is that person's alibi checking out fine?

I'm glad to see a native Japanese speaker on this thread...inmyhumbleopinion, thank you for translating that updated text to that link I gave. I had tried putting that text into google translate,but it was a very rough and hard to understand translation. Not very useful. For example, google translated that "from October was going to commit in Vancouver" for what you have told us is that she was hoping to start working in Vancouver beginning in October.
The pinfluencer link put thru google translate:
https://translate.googleusercontent...kusei/&usg=ALkJrhhVDkta72zf9ZrbeHCzbB6eK1OzRQ

RBBM for focus.

I have found at least two MSM articles -though both entirely in Japanese- that specifically report that the person Natsumi sent her last LINE message to is Canadian.

Sources:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/videonews/ann?a=20160916-00000061-ann-int
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/videonews/nnn?a=20160915-00000091-nnn-int

The latter article further states that the said person and Natsumi had made plans to meet at her house at 5:30 PM on the 8th, but (for an unspecified reason) he realized that he couldn't be there until 6:30 PM, so at 4:30 PM, he sent her a message via LINE to give her a heads-up, which went unread. He still showed up at her house at 6:30 PM and waited outside for her, but she never showed. A bit hinkey, IMO.

 

[Myster]

I'm 90% certain that this is the Natsumi that I met at my language exchange center once. I only met her once a few months ago, but she has a very distinctive smile so I'm fairly certain it's her.

If it is the same person, I remember she said that she likes Vancouver because she likes the outdoors, and she loves hiking. Is it possible that she might have gone on a day hike on the day that she was supposed to meet her friend (since their meeting time wasn't until 5:30pm)? Burnaby is well-known for having hill-y terrain and forest parks, and Holdum Station near where she lived is close to a number of large parks (Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake, SFU Burnaby Mountain). Just throwing the idea out there because I remember reading a few missing persons cases in the past where hikers in Vancouver and surrounding areas accidentally went off trails or got injured (or worse, attacked) while hiking alone.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

The ESL school Kogawa attended was KAPLAN INTERNATIONAL VANCOUVER which is located in downtown [ Robson St]:

http://www.kaplaninternational.ca/schools-canada/vancouver/


This is and other facts below were indicated in public releases issued either by her friends or law enforcement...


This Google Map shows the route from the 'Sky Train' station closest to where she lives in Burnaby , BC [ near HOLDOM STATION ] to the KAPLAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL in downtown Vancouver on Robson Street [ a major shopping street] [the closest station is BURRARD STATION]:


https://goo.gl/maps/11q8vufBFmQ2 [ 25 min by train ]



One place she was said to visit regularly after class was the library:


THE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY is a 9 minute walk from the ESL school:
http://www.vpl.ca/branches/details/central_library

350 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 6B1
Phone: 604-331-3603



https://goo.gl/maps/US5TtL2LcjT2



On Thursday September 8th, it was open until 9 p.m.
[ Thursday: 10am - 9pm* ]


The early FB post also said Kogawa would sometimes go to her friend's place near "JOYCE STATION" aka Joyce–Collingwood station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce–Collingwood_station


https://goo.gl/maps/MsCN3nb7Q1u [ 18 min by train ]



To get from JOYCE COLLINGWOOD STATION to HOLDROM STATION, it would be a bit trickier - she would either need to transfer trains/buses or take the long way around:


https://goo.gl/maps/bwcqUNBipxr [23 min - 31 min ]



Walking would be impractical at 6.5 km or 1 hour 26 mins by foot.


https://goo.gl/maps/GfukV2coXiB2


The search is now focused more in the Burnaby area based on evidence from CCTV cameras, I think.

-------------

This deals with someone whom almost immediately following the case was posted online, went out of his way to post claims the woman was no longer missing, along with accusations that the two male friends heading her search were in fact stalkers. Most of his comments were taken down but not before he continued throwing accusations at his critics... an archive of most comments were captured:

http://pastebin.com/DtutArce

RBBM for focus. I think you are onto something, MaxRx. I did some sleuthing on WB and have found some MSM articles which suggest that he very well could have interacted with Natsumi, or someone in Natsumi's situation (i.e., an international student hoping to land a job in Canada). Plus, he has been accused of "improper and inappropriate interactions" with students. I really need to look into this person a little further, but gotta go for now .

 

[slowpoke]

Went back and read a few articles, and think I've got part of the who's who straight. The globalnews report characterizes JV as a "close friend", and he says he and Natsumi messaged each other every day or so.

Global News spoke with Kogawa’s close friend Jay Vergara, who reported her missing.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2945016/d...ent-completely-out-of-character-close-friend/

That other media release had said she was

reported missing by her boyfriend

, so now we know this referred to JV.
http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2016/09...h-for-missing-esl-student/?platform=hootsuite

Also, JV is not the one she was supposed to meet up with that day she disappeared. The CTV news articles say

Vergara told CTV News that Kogawa messaged another friend on the morning of Sept. 8 to make plans to meet with him later that day.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-concerned-about-japanese-student-missing-in-b-c-1.3075965

 

[MaxRx]

http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2016/09...h-for-missing-esl-student/?platform=hootsuite

Question: Who is the boyfriend referenced, who reported her missing (thank you, Daephine). It isn't one of the two names we've heard so far, is it? JV or YA? JV is the one who seems to be the one we see in the interviews and media, but I'm not sure of the nature of his relationship with Natsumi. A very close friend, at the very least, it sounds. But is he the boyfriend? If it wasn't for that one link I gave, I don't know that we would have heard of YA (although I could be mistaken about that).

....

I can confirm that JV is the self-reported boyfriend of the missing woman, NO. Although in other interviews he indicates himself a close friend (quite possibly out of some form of embarassment or attempt to be discreet), in one of the very first interviews given to the first Japanese television news station to report this story ( FujiTV) while it's not on camera, he did indicate to the staff who interviewed him in English on the phone that he was her boyfriend - and was the person who went to the police with concerns about her extended unexplained absence.

カナダ・バンクーバーに語学留学の30歳日本人女性が行方不明
[ 30 y.o. Japanese language student (f) reported missing in Vancouver Canada ]
http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00336228.html
http://archive.is/uLbL4

And this interview [ the part I set it at includes telephone interview with JV in English indicates the he was the friend who apparently was the last known person to communicate with her phone/LINE but wasn't the friend whom she was set to meet that evening... but when she went incommunicado, JV was the one who eventually went to her apartment in Burnaby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwWWExLiuPY&feature=youtu.be&t=53

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I can confirm that JV is the self-reported boyfriend of the missing woman, NO. Although in other interviews he indicates himself a close friend (quite possibly out of some form of embarassment or attempt to be discreet), in one of the very first interviews given to the first Japanese television news station to report this story ( FujiTV) while it's not on camera, he did indicate to the staff who interviewed him in English on the phone that he was her boyfriend - and was the person who went to the police with concerns about her extended unexplained absence.

カナダ・バンクーバーに語学留学の30歳日本人女性が行方不明
[ 30 y.o. Japanese language student (f) reported missing in Vancouver Canada ]
http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00336228.html
http://archive.is/uLbL4

And this interview [ the part I set it at includes telephone interview with JV in English indicates the he was the friend who apparently was the last known person to communicate with her phone/LINE but wasn't the friend whom she was set to meet that evening... but when she went incommunicado, JV was the one who eventually went to her apartment in Burnaby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwWWExLiuPY&feature=youtu.be&t=53

RSBM:

he did indicate to the staff who interviewed him in English on the phone that he was her boyfriend - and was the person who went to the police with concerns about her extended unexplained absence.

May I ask where this is mentioned?

indicates the he was the friend who apparently was the last known person to communicate with her phone/LINE but wasn't the friend whom she was set to meet that evening

I think what JV is saying is that he tried to get in touch with Natsumi several times and when he did not hear back from her -despite his multiple attempts-, he eventually went over to the house where she was staying. So, JV tried to communicate with Natsumi, but was unable to, not that he was the last known person to actually communicate with her. At least, that's how I understand what he says in the interview.

 

[MaxRx]

May I ask where this is mentioned?

It wasn't in the interview itself. It was indicated to the staff at the TV station who conducted the interview over the phone....

 

[Satchie]

I'm 90% certain that this is the Natsumi that I met at my language exchange center once. I only met her once a few months ago, but she has a very distinctive smile so I'm fairly certain it's her.

If it is the same person, I remember she said that she likes Vancouver because she likes the outdoors, and she loves hiking. Is it possible that she might have gone on a day hike on the day that she was supposed to meet her friend (since their meeting time wasn't until 5:30pm)? Burnaby is well-known for having hill-y terrain and forest parks, and Holdum Station near where she lived is close to a number of large parks (Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake, SFU Burnaby Mountain). Just throwing the idea out there because I remember reading a few missing persons cases in the past where hikers in Vancouver and surrounding areas accidentally went off trails or got injured (or worse, attacked) while hiking alone.

Good point, also quite a few relative newcomers to the area have gotten lost hiking, though primarily on the North Shore, not so likely to get lost in the Burnaby parks.

 

[LoyalSleuth]

Where are you Natsumi? Prayers to you...

 

[Daephine]

Burnaby is a primarily a bedroom community in Metro Vancouver, so unless you're giving specific directions, it's often called Vancouver.

Yes, I know that Burnaby is another city separate from Vancouver, I just didn't think they would describe it in such a way... because the RCMP handles anything outside of the city of Vancouver and there is the Vancouver police by themselves.

 

[Daephine]

Yes, I know that Burnaby is another city separate from Vancouver, I just didn't think they would describe it in such a way... because the RCMP handles anything outside of the city of Vancouver and there is the Vancouver police by themselves.

This is in reference to why the Vancouver Police is handling it and not the RCMP, if she was missing from Burnaby.


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[Daephine]

Anyway, I am wondering if the last person to talk to her was on September 8, why she was reported missing days later on September 12.


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[Myster]

Anyway, I am wondering if the last person to talk to her was on September 8, why she was reported missing days later on September 12.


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According to CTV news, "it’s not unusual for Kogawa to go away for a couple days without telling people": http://bc.ctvnews.ca/we-just-want-her-back-mother-of-missing-student-speaks-out-1.3076719

That's probably why it took four days for them to report her as missing.

 

[Satchie]

This is in reference to why the Vancouver Police is handling it and not the RCMP, if she was missing from Burnaby.

It was originally reported to Vancouver City police, after initial investigation it's been handed over to Burnaby police.