Chicago Woman Mysteriously Disappears While On Trip To Japan With Male Friend

One family is desperately searching for answers after their loved one suddenly went mysteriously missing while on a trip to Japan.

Kandace Schipper had been traveling in Tokyo, Japan, since May 8 with a male friend named Luis Torres. The 29-year-old stayed in touch with her throughout her travels abroad, but things changed on June 4 when all communication suddenly ended. They haven’t heard from her – or the 27-year-old pal – since, causing a ton of concern for her relatives. Kandace’s brother-in-law Adam Willea told WGN-TV:

“Every single day she had been communicating with family and friends. I mean text, phone calls, pictures, updates, Instagram posts. And then it all abruptly ended on June 4th.”

The Chicago resident’s last known location was in Shibuya, Tokyo, where her family received a notification about a credit card transaction. Adam said they have since filed a missing persons report with the Chicago Police Department, which contacted the U.S. Embassy and authorities in Japan to help search for Kandace. However, the family has experienced some issues with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.

According to Willea, law enforcement abroad will not help or even begin filing a missing persons report until Kandace has missed her flight home. And what makes this situation complicated then? Adam shared that this has posed a problem for the family “because technically, her flight home isn’t scheduled yet.” Oh no. He added:

“We’re here stateside. There’s literally nothing we can do. So, this helpless feeling of not knowing if she is in a hospital, is she being held somewhere against her will? Is she hurt? There’s nothing we can even do because it’s in Toyko, Japan. We need feet on the ground over there.”

We cannot imagine how scared and helpless this family must be, especially since they’ve hit a roadblock with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and seemingly cannot do much to find answers about Kandace’s whereabouts right now. Her sister Nicole Willea shared a post to Facebook on Tuesday, begging anyone with information about Kandace to come forward. She wrote:

“Our family is experiencing one of the worst fears possible. My sister, Kandace Schipper has been unreachable since June 4. She has been traveling in Tokyo Japan since May 8. She was communicating every day from Tokyo to family and friends but has not been reachable in 9 days. A missing person report has been filed in Chicago and the US embassy has been alerted. Her last known location June 5th in Tokyo was the Shibuya City area.”

Kandace is believed to have been staying at the APA Hotel. She is also described as 140 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches tall. We’re keeping Kandace’s family in our thoughts during this trying time and hope that she is reunited with them soon.

[Image via Nicole Willea/Facebook]