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Search continues for missing student
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by Andriy Pazuniak
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Madison Police Department continues to search for Kenji Ohmi, a Japanese student who has been missing for almost a month.
Ohmi, a student at the Wisconsin English as a Second Language Institute, was last seen Jan. 28 leaving his home on the 200 block of N. Hamilton St. at 6:30 a.m.
Though police have not reported any substantial leads on Ohmi's whereabouts, and with the odds of finding him diminishing with every passing day, a police official said Wednesday the city is still holding out hope.
"At this point, we're hopeful for a positive result," MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said. "We're envisioning all sorts of scenarios and not ruling anything out. We can't jump to any conclusions."
Hanson added police do not believe foul play was involved in the case, which has become a top priority for the two Madison police detectives in charge of the investigation.
Madison police have enlisted the help of the National Center for Missing Adults in their search for Ohmi, as well.
According to Hanson, the national organization has a large network of law agencies and can "get information onto the national scope" more effectively than the MPD could.
Hanson also called for the public's help in searching for Ohmi, who, according to a police report, is 5-feet-tall, weighs approximately 120 pounds and does not speak English.
Ohmi was last seen wearing a black jacket, jeans and white sneakers, and was not carrying any bags with him.
Amy Osorio, a WESLI co-director, said Ohmi was a student at the institute for only a month before disappearing and described him as "shy" and a "good student."
"He attended class everyday and always did his homework," she said. "Obviously, we're very concerned and we're really hoping for a resolution."
Osorio added Ohmi was closest to his roommates at his Hamilton St. residence, and according to Osorio, Ohmi never showed any signs of wanting to run away.
A volunteer search effort was recently coordinated with the help of WESLI officials. However, Osorio said the search did not result in any substantial information on Ohmi's disappearance.
Ohmi's mother — who participated in the search with Ohmi's father — remains in Madison. Ohmi's father recently returned to Japan.
Anyone with information on Ohmi's whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 266-6014.
