Police are reporting that a 45-year-old refugee who went missing in October has resurfaced, again, this time in Quebec.
Japanese refugee Izumi Aoyama, who was residing in New Westminster since July, was last seen on Oct. 22. Shortly after her disappearance, her belongings, including two cats, were found scattered in an isolated area of Colony Farm Regional Park in Port Coquitlam.
A few weeks later, police reported that Aoyama had been seen as recently as Nov. 8 in Thunder Bay, Ont. How she got there was unknown.
According to New Westminster police, hospital staff in Saint Hyacinthe, Que. contacted the department on Dec. 19 (today) and informed them that Aoyama checked herself into the hospital “on her own accord.”
It is still unknown how the 45-year-old made her way across Canada, more than 5,000 kilometres from New Westminster.
In the meantime, staff at the hospital will liaise with local police in Saint Hyacinthe, while Aoyama remains at the hospital for observation.
Two days before she went missing, Aoyama was at the New Westminster police station on Columbia Street to retrieve some belongings the department was temporarily storing for her, Staff Sgt. Diana McDaniel said in a previous email to The Record.
