〝空白の4分間〟1キロ移動していた…室蘭の女子高校生 千田麻未さん行方不明から25年「今無理だからあとでかけ直す」PHS通話を最後に…元捜査幹部が証言する〝不可解な状況〟【シリーズ未解決事件】

This special feature is part of our series on unsolved cases. This time, we focus on a high school girl from Muroran City, Hokkaido, who disappeared 25 years ago. We have valuable testimony from a senior investigator at the time. March 6, 2001. Asami Chida (then 16), a first-year student at Muroran Sakae High School, suddenly vanished. Even after 25 years, there are still no leads, and her whereabouts remain unknown. We hope the investigation will make some progress. A former senior investigator who was leading the front lines at the Muroran Police Station at the time has spoken for the first time about the behind-the-scenes details of the investigation. Former Investigative Officer Testifies: "There is a possibility of foul play." Noriyuki Mino, 68 years old. He is now retired and hospitalized for medical treatment. Noriyuki Mino (68), Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation and Community Safety at Muroran Police Station (at the time) "I will never forget this." Nationwide, there are approximately 80,000 missing persons cases annually. Most are said to be runaways and unrelated to crimes. However, on this particular occasion, there was a certain conviction. Noriyuki Mino (68), then Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation and Community Safety at Muroran Police Station: "The police were completely under the assumption that she was 'involved in a crime.' There was no reason for her to run away from home." The reason for this assertion lay in the inexplicable circumstances. That day, Ms. Chida took a bus to the center of Muroran City. Reporter Sota Araki (January 2026): "This is the location of the apartment where Ms. Chida and her family lived at the time. The building has been demolished and the site is now vacant land." At the time, Ms. Chida lived with her family in a housing complex in Shiratoridai, Muroran City. That day was a holiday for high school entrance exams, so students were off school. Reporter Sota Araki: "On the day Ms. Chida went missing, she took a bus from here, about a 15-minute walk from her home." This is what Ms. Chida did on that day. In the early afternoon, Ms. Chida boarded a bus. She headed towards a commercial facility near JR Higashi-Muroran Station. Security camera footage shows Asami Chida Security camera footage confirms she was walking around the cosmetics section of the commercial facility from around 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM. A few minutes later, she passed two classmates on the street in front of the commercial facility and called out to them: Ms. Chida: "Where are you going?" The classmates replied that they were going to a bowling alley. These two were the last people to see Ms. Chida. It is known from her commuter pass records that Ms. Chida boarded a bus again and got off at "Higashidori." Her last phone call was to a classmate she was dating at the time: "I can't right now, I'll call you back later." She made a short phone call to the classmate she was dating near the bus stop. Ms. Chida: "I've arrived downstairs." "Downstairs" refers to the area around Nakajima-cho, Muroran City, including the "Higashidori" bus stop, according to local residents. Near the bus stop was the main branch of the bakery where Ms. Chida worked part-time. She reportedly called before leaving home on the day of her disappearance, saying she was "going to work." Four minutes after her first call, she spoke to her boyfriend again. Ms. Chida said, "I can't right now, I'll call you back later." Was she in a situation where she couldn't talk to her boyfriend? This was the last call she made before disappearing. PHS location data revealed she had moved nearly 1 kilometer in 4 minutes. Police tracked her movements using PHS location data after sightings ceased. At the time she said she had "arrived downstairs," her PHS was detected near the bakery. However, four minutes later, when she made the call saying she would "call back later," her location had moved nearly 1 kilometer. Police focused on this point, seeking a clue to solving the case. Noriyuki Mino (68), then Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation and Community Safety at Muroran Police Station: "He traveled a distance that absolutely required a car. This led us to believe there was a crime involved." It's difficult for someone to travel alone without someone's involvement. Considering the high likelihood of foul play, the police launched a major investigation. Mino testified for the first time on camera that they conducted house searches at several locations believed to have been visited by Chida at the time. However… Noriyuki Mino (68), then Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation and Community Safety at Muroran Police Station: "We looked for various reactions. Urine, blood, we darkened the room and shone lights, but there was nothing." No conclusive evidence was found, and the investigation stalled. While praying for Chida's safety, they also conducted investigations anticipating the worst-case scenario. ...