Fourteen years and seven months after the 3/11 Great East Japan Earthquake, news both bittersweet and relieving has emerged. The remains of a six-year-old girl who went missing during the disaster have finally been identified after nearly two years of scientific examination, granting closure to the family who waited so many years.
Workers Find Remains on Coast
The discovery began on February 17, 2023, when a construction company in Shizugawa, Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, was carrying out cleanup operations around a bridge after completing repair work. While collecting debris from the coastline, workers unexpectedly found what appeared to be human bones and promptly notified the police.
The remains included fragments of the lower jawbone and several teeth. To confirm the identity, Miyagi police used advanced scientific methods: in addition to traditional mitochondrial DNA testing, they collaborated for the first time with Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry to analyze the proteins in the teeth to determine sex—an approach that had never before been applied in Miyagi Prefecture.
After nearly two years of meticulous examination, results showed that the remains matched the identity of Natsuse Yamane, a girl from Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture who disappeared during the 3/11 earthquake, with “no contradiction in the findings.” At the time, the 6-year-old girl attended kindergarten and was swept away from her home by the tsunami; her remains were ultimately found in Minamisanriku, about 100 kilometers from where she went missing.
The police formally confirmed her identity on September 24 of this year and plan to return her remains to her family in the coming days.
Family Expresses Gratitude: Never Gave Up Hope
Upon learning that their daughter's remains had finally been found after 14 years and seven months, the family issued a statement expressing deep gratitude: “We extend our deepest thanks to those who carried out the cleanup, to those who sorted items and discovered the remains, and to the police who never gave up on the investigation. We had already lost hope, so this news came as a great surprise, but our hearts are filled with joy.”
The girl’s mother said at this year’s memorial service: “In my heart, she will always be six years old.” It is understood that at the time of the disaster, Natsuse was at home with her grandmother; unable to escape the rising water in time, the grandmother miraculously survived.
Lively Girl Forever Remembered
According to her kindergarten teacher, Natsuse was energetic, loved playing house and building block games, and most looked forward to “inari sushi” at lunch. The teacher said, every time she saw her photo, she hoped the girl would be found soon: “Now I can say to her, 'You’ve finally come home to your parents.'”
According to police agency statistics, 2,519 people are still missing from the 3/11 disaster. This identification is the first since 2023, bringing a glimmer of hope to other waiting families.