Evil does his job again here in Japan. What used to be known as one of the safest countries in the world is now clouded by fear and horrifying news these past months…![missing[1]](http://piamercado.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/missing1.jpg?w=500 "missing[1]")
Miyako Hiraoka. A teenager – gone forever…
Body parts, including a severed head, found scattered on a mountain here have been identified as those of a 19-year-old female college student who disappeared two weeks ago, police said Monday.
A test of a thighbone and torso discovered Saturday and Sunday, respectively, on Mount Garyuzan matched the DNA of Miyako Hiraoka, a first-year student at the University of Shimane in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture, police said.
Her head had been discovered on the same mountain, which is near the border of Shimane Prefecture, on Friday.
Hiraoka was last seen leaving an ice-cream shop in a shopping mall where she worked part time at 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 26. She was apparently walking to her university dormitory about 2.6 kilometers away.
Investigative sources said Hiraoka appears to have been strangled.
An autopsy showed that her head had been repeatedly struck hard and was likely severed with a sharp tool, they said.
The time of death was between Oct. 26 and 31.
There were no major external wounds to Hiraoka’s trunk, according to Shimane and Hiroshima prefectural police.
Because there were no signs of massive blood loss on the mountain, police suspect Hiraoka’s body was mutilated elsewhere and the parts transported by car to the mountain.
Hiraoka’s naked torso was found around 10 a.m. Sunday on a slope near a rest area for motorists at the eighth station of the mountain.
About 70 to 80 meters away across a mountain path, a man picking mushrooms discovered the head Friday.
The thighbone, 30 to 40 centimeters in length and holding little flesh, was discovered around 10 a.m. Saturday in a wooded area about 1.2 km from an entrance to the mountain path.
Police believe Hiraoka’s trunk was carried on foot down a moderate slope off the mountain path and discarded.
But they suspect Hiraoka’s head was thrown from the top of a steep slope. It was found about 10 meters below the rest area.
About 180 police officers were searching for clues Monday, especially on Mount Garyuzan and along Route 168, which leads from Hamada to northern Hiroshima Prefecture.
-Asahi Shimbun
