The body of a 21-year-old German university student who went missing on Oct 11 while on holiday in Wakayama Prefecture has been found off the coast of Wakayama City.
According to police, the Japan Coast Guard received a report at 2:50 p.m. on Nov 1 of a "person floating face-up" about 1.5 kilometers offshore from Wakayama City.
DNA testing revealed that it was that of Claudio Worm, the missing student, TV Asahi reported Tuesday.
When his body was found, he was wearing jeans but no clothes on the upper half of his body and no shoes, police said, adding there were no visible signs of injury on the body.
Police said an autopsy could not determine the cause of death due to the severity of the damage to the body.
Worm arrived in Japan on Sept 21 for a vacation. He first spent time in Tokyo and had been staying in Wakayama City since Sept 30. At around 8:30 p.m. on Oct 11, security camera footage showed him walking alone near Nankai Wakayama City Station.
On Oct 12, Worm’s passport and mobile phone were found in a multi-purpose toilet in the city. His suitcase was found in a coin locker at JR Wakayama Station on Oct 30.
Worm entered Japan for tourism in September and toured Tokyo before entering Wakayama Prefecture, but the last time he was heard from was on Oct 10, when he exchanged messages with his mother on social media.
© Japan Today
21 Comments
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falseflagsteve
Oh no, RIP. Must be awful for his family and friends
Hope the authorities get to the bottom of this
puregaijin
Very sad to hear. Condolences to the young man’s family. If there’s a foul play angle, hope it’s swiftly resolved for the family’s sake.
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Fighto!
Tragic news.
Rest in Peace to the young man. Condolences to his family and friends.
virusrex
Very tragic development. The few details reported seem to indicate it will be very difficult to clarify his death but at least the family will have a small degree of peace of mind knowing his remains could be recovered.
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Mr Kipling
Sad news, it is not unusual for police in Japan to withhold information about a case. For example, the nature of his messages with his mother.
tamanegi
Very sorry to hear this news. I do hope the police can determine Mr Worm's final movements and circumstances of his passing. Condolences to his family and friends.
RIP young man.
nandakandamanda
Was hoping for better news. This is awful.
Zaphod
I hope the police can determine if it was an accident or foul play.
garypen
The fact his wallet and passport were found in a toilet in the city, and his body was found in the ocean, does point to possible foul play.
But, the amount of damage to his body from 3 weeks in the water might make it hard to identify a cause of death. Hopefully, it won't prevent it.
Mr Kipling
It could also point to a possible suicide. Or accidental drowning, after which someone found his stuff and later abandoned them in the toilet.
M1984FA
Mr Kipling
Suicide is the most unlikely of all possibilities, seeing that the guy was talking to his family earlier in the day and saying he was having a great time.
Lord Dartmouth
Rest in peace.
Hawk
Shame. I was hoping for a better outcome. Condolences.
Diogo Rodrigues
A sad outcome for a life still starting.
In my opinion this has all the signs of foul play. If you lose a wallet or passport, people quickly deliver it to lost and found, not throw it in the toilet.
This, the luggage in the locker and then appearing so far out from the coast...
To me the real question is now the why?
Robbery gone wrong? Drugs? Extorsion? Yakuza?
Mr Kipling
We have not been told the subject of his conversations, even if they were positive in nature, that wouldn't mean he wasn't suicidal.
However, I still favor a swim gone wrong.
Fighto!
This young man's friends and relatives are possibly reading this - and you are going around with close to zero information making baseless speculation.
Low.
smithinjapan
falseflagsteve: "Hope the authorities get to the bottom of this"
Doesn't sound like they are making a terrible amount of effort since they can't even reveal cause of death (or are not putting in a real effort to do that... possibly).
Mr. Kipling: "It could also point to a possible suicide."
I just don't see it. You come all the way for a visit to Japan just to jump off a cliff or whatever in Wakayama and leave no note in the final messages to your family? I mean... they have to be looking for more. They found his belongings in a toilet... surely they can tell us if there was money in his wallet and/or other stuff missing if missing.
Anyway, RIP.
Zaphod
Apparently his last confirmed location was a bar in the town. I assume the police is talking to the bar owner to find out if something happened there.
Yubaru
Outside of your morbid curiosity to know the details of his life, what difference does it make to you what he wrote to his mother?
If it was warranted, you can be sure the police would have shared the information, or will, when the time is appropriate.
Zaphod
Mr Kipling
His German friends and family who have been posting on X say his last conversions were positive and he was looking forward to flying home.
nandakandamanda
Presumably he paid his bill at the bar before leaving, so he would have had his wallet, phone etc. at that time.