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French woman with epilepsy has been missing in Japan since July 29, police announce

Casey Baseel Aug 8, 2018
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Single traveler spent two nights in Japan before disappearing while in mountainous sightseeing town.

On July 27, French woman Tiphaine Veron arrived in Japan. The 36-year-old solo traveler had Kyoto and the country’s northeastern Tohoku region on her itinerary, but before that she planned to spend a few days in Nikko, the mountain town in Tochigi Prefecture famous for its beautiful mountains, waterfalls, shrines, and temples.

Tiphaine had booked two nights’ accommodation at an inn in Nikko’s Takumicho neighborhood, checking in on July 28. At around 10 a.m. on July 29 she was seen leaving the hotel by an employee, who wished her a good morning as she went out presumably for some sightseeing. Tiphaine was carrying a small shoulder bag, but left her larger suitcase, as well as her passport, in her room.

▼ Tiphaine Veron

Voilà désormais 9 jours que Tiphaine Véron, Française de 36 ans en vacances dans la région de Nikko, au Japon, n'a plus donné de signe de vie. La police japonaise enquête sur cette disparition jugée inquiétante https://t.co/UeP9ehq96p #AFP pic.twitter.com/cNF4m1IH3k

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) August 6, 2018

However, Tiphaine, who is epileptic, did not return to the hotel that night, and on July 30, the staff contacted the police to report her absence. She has not been seen since, despite an ongoing police search of the area, starting with the vicinity of sightseeing locations Tiphaine had planned to visit, according to memos she had written which were found in her hotel room.

▼ Photos of Tiphaine, tweeted by her cousin Emmanuelle

New #missing person #Alert for Tiphaine. Please 🙏 share it.
Thank you. #Nikko #Japan pic.twitter.com/iynjZNAzkA

— Emmanuelle (@lfemma) August 5, 2018

On August 5, the Tochigi Prefectural Police made the details of the investigation public. Tiphaine’s mother and younger sister, Sibylle, have criticized the lack of progress, sending a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron in which they claim the police have failed to properly question the last person to have seen Tiphaine or search for her mobile phone via GPS.

▼ A photo of the letter, tweeted by Sibylle

On August 7, French ambassador to Japan Laurent Pic traveled to Tochigi’s prefectural capital city, Utsunomiya, to meet with Governor Tomikazu Fukuda and police officials. Tiphaine’s brother, Stanislas, has also since arrived in Japan alongside Sibylle, with Stanislas saying “We expect to stay in Nikko as long as required in order to bring our sister back to France.”

Both Sibylle and Emmanuelle are asking anyone with information to reach out to them through their Twitter accounts (Sibylle here, Emmanuelle here), while the Tochigi Prefectural Police have set up a telephone hotline at 0288-53-0110.

Sources: Yahoo! Japan News/TBS News via Hachima Kiko, Japan today (1, 2), Le Figaro, Sankei News, Kyodo