Politics
Body of missing Brit Alice Hodgkinson, 28, found by cops after teacher disappeared in Japan, family confirm tragic news
THE BODY of British teacher Alice Hodgkinson has been found in Japan eight days after she went missing, her devastated family said today.
Her tearful dad Steve Hodgkinson told how they had received “the worst news imaginable” by police and said they were “at a complete loss.”
FacebookAlice Hodgkinson’s body was found over a week after she went missing, her family have confirmed[/caption]
Concerns had been raised last week when Alice, 28, from Nottingham failed to turn up for work at the English language school where she taught in Yokohama, near Tokyo.
Her worried friends in the country, where the Edinburgh University graduate had been living for more than a year, launched a poster campaign in a bid to find her.
Her family in the UK faced an agonising wait for news and desperately clung onto a glimmer of hope she could still be alive although her dad admitted earlier in the week: “We fear the worse.”
It appears Alice took her own life and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with her death.
Retired computer software engineer Steve, 68, said at his Nottingham home he shares with son Peter, 32: “We were notified last night. Police told me that had found Alice’s body. It was the worst news imaginable.
BPMPolice believe the English language teacher took her own life[/caption]
“We are devastated and it is a very difficult time for our family.”
Steve – divorced from Alice’s mum NHS worker Julie, 63, who also lives in Nottingham – added: “We are at a complete loss and her mother is struggling, she’s beside herself with grief.”
The family want to repatriate her body as soon as possible.
He said he wasn’t yet sure if he and his son would be travelling to Japan, saying: “We’ve not decided what best to do. If we go out there we’ll need to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks. But we need to bring Alice home.”
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
Always keep your phone nearby.
Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
If you are in danger, call 999.
Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm or email helpline@womensaid.org.uk
SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
He added: “Close family are aware. It is not a murder investigation and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with her death.”
It is understood officers who broke into Alice’s apartment on July 1 after she was reported missing found a note addressed to her dad and brother.
Steve was too upset to say where his daughter’s body was found or how she had died.
Her heartbroken father had previously told how he was “anxiously waiting by the phone” for news on his daughter just days before her body was discovered.
BPMStephen Hodgkinson had been waiting by the phone desperate to hear news about his daughter[/caption]
She was last seen on June 29 but he had received an email from her the following day – the last one she sent.
He earlier described Alice’s mother, Julie, being “quite distressed” amid the news of her daughter’s disappearance.
Nottingham-born Alice had travelled to Tokyo last March to teach English at an English conversation school and had been living in the Kanagawa prefecture.
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Japanese cops reportedly broke down the door of her apartment and found a note inside – but they refused to reveal its contents.
Alice’s brother Peter had also began an online appeal in hopes of finding his sister, explaining that UK and Japanese authorities were both working to locate the 28-year-old.
She would regularly keep in contact with her parents via video calls and emails.
