Parents Disappear Late at Night Carrying Young Daughter, Phones Turn Off One by One... 'Wando Family' Missing Mystery

Searching for Joyuna and Family on Sixth Day
Whereabouts Unknown Since CCTV Capture on 31st Last Month

A 30-year-old parent and 10-year-old Joyuna, missing in Wando, Jeollanam-do./Provided by the National Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The police have been investigating for six days the family, including an elementary school child and parents, who went missing in Wando, Jeollanam-do after leaving for a "one-month stay in Jeju." However, their whereabouts remain unknown. Questions remain about why their cell phones were turned off one after another and where the vehicle they used is located.

According to the Gwangju Nambu Police Station, the parents of 10-year-old elementary school student Jo Yuna, who lived in Nam-gu, Gwangju, applied to the school for an off-campus experiential learning trip from the 19th of last month to the 15th of this month. Off-campus experiential learning is a system where students are recognized as present even if they do not attend school, provided they have the principal's approval.

The parents reportedly informed the school that the destination for the experiential learning was Jeju Island. However, when Jo did not attend school on the 16th of this month and contact with the parents was lost, the school reported them missing to the police on the 22nd.

[Questions] 1. They said they were going to Jeju, so why Wando?

Investigations revealed that the family stayed at a pension near Myeongsasimni Beach in Sinji-myeon, Wando, Jeollanam-do, from the 24th to the 30th of last month. The family hardly left the room and reportedly did not engage in any water activities. Contrary to the initial experiential learning application, they did not visit Jeju Island. Why did those who said they were going to Jeju stay in Wando? And why did they mostly stay inside the room despite staying at a pool villa pension?

An investigation to find the family of 10-year-old Jo Yuna, who went missing in the Sinji-myeon area of Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do on the 27th, has been ongoing for six days. The photo shows Songgok Dock, where Jo's father's cellphone was last turned off. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Questions] 2. Why did they go out late at night?

Their last known whereabouts were captured around 11 p.m. on the 30th of last month at the pension. CCTV footage showed a child presumed to be Jo being carried by a woman believed to be the mother, leaving the pension with a man thought to be the father. Subsequently, Jo and the mother's cell phones were turned off around 1 a.m. on the 31st near the lodging facility, and the father's cell phone was turned off around 4 a.m. near Songgok Pier. The distance from the pension to Songgok Pier is known to be about 5 to 7 minutes by car.

[Questions] 3. Where did the vehicle go?

After the father's cell phone last connected to a base station, their whereabouts became unknown. The police confirmed that the Audi vehicle they were in entered Wando, but there is no evidence of them taking a ferry or leaving by land, so it is presumed they are still in Wando. The possibility that the vehicle fell into the sea near Songgok Pier is also being considered, and searches are underway, but the vehicle has not yet been found.

The police have deployed about 200 officers to search the coast, nearby villages, and hills around the area where their cell phones were turned off. They are also preparing to deploy two drones, a helicopter, coast guard patrol boats equipped with underwater detection devices, and divers, keeping open the possibility that the vehicle plunged into the sea.

The parents, both in their mid-30s, reportedly closed a computer-related business at the end of last month and currently have no workplace or business operations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.