Society

People Go Missing While Foraging for Wild Vegetables

HOKKAIDO, May 12 (News On Japan) - An increasing number of people have gone missing while foraging for wild mountain vegetables in Hokkaido between May 10th and 11th.

In Kikonai, 86-year-old Yoshitsugu Kakutani has been unaccounted for since heading out to collect royal fern (zenmai) on May 10th. His light truck was later found near a mountain trail, but there have been no signs of his whereabouts.

As the area is known to be inhabited by bears, hunters joined the search effort, and about 50 people began combing the mountain area from the vicinity of the vehicle on the morning of May 11th. Kakutani's mobile phone remains unreachable, and no clues have been discovered.

Meanwhile, in Bihoro in the Okhotsk region, a 77-year-old man who went out around 9 a.m. on May 11th to collect alpine leek (gyōjaninniku) was reported missing, but was safely located around 5 p.m. the same day.

Source: 北海道ニュースUHB

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