Missing
Hiroko Nemoto
Nemoto, approximately 1998
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/07/1998
Missing location (approx) :
AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: , Alaska
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Asian
DOB : 06/06/1962 (59)
Age at the time of disappearance: 36 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6, 110 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Asian female. Black hair, brown eyes. Nemoto is a Japanese citizen.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Nemoto was a senior majoring in psychology at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan in 1998. She told a friend that she did not plan to return to school the following semester, as she believed that her degree would lead to employment solely in research and she wanted to work in clinical psychology.
Nemoto's friend also stated that Nemoto sold the majority of her clothing and personal belongings in early June. Her friend said that Nemoto gave her numerous Japanese mementos.
Nemoto's friend and her husband took Nemoto to dinner shortly before her scheduled return to Japan on June 3, 1998. She was an excellent student who received a lower grade than expected in one of her classes during the spring semester. She was apparently upset about the matter and her friend believed it lead to her decision to leave college, although she was only ten credits shy of completing her undergraduate degree.
Nemoto departed from Lansing, Michigan on a Northwest Airlines flight to AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: , Alaska on June 3. She normally phoned her mother in Japan weekly, but she did not tell any of her loved ones that she did not intend to return to her native country.
Authorities determined that Nemoto traveled to Denali National Park and Preserve near Mount McKinley after arriving in Alaska. She returned to AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: shortly afterwards and spent one night at a youth hostel before traveling to Wasilla, which is approximately 50 miles north of AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: , on June 7, 1998.
Nemoto has never been heard from again. Investigators established that she purchased a train ticket from AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: to Whittier, Alaska and a ferry ticket from Whittier to Valdez, Alaska. It's unclear if she arrived at her destinations.
Nemoto's friend said that she theorized Nemoto was attempting to forget about Japan during the summer of 1998. Nemoto's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
AnchorAge at the time of disappearance: Police Department
907-269-5058
September 2021 updates and sources
Alaska State Department of Public Safety
The State News
. .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
