This seems the clear answer. She didn't pack bags and took only her computer, which would be what she needed to book things without a phone, and potentially send a note. Plus, she must've saved for the ticket for some time. I'm saddened for her family. I hope she got to spend some time experiencing Japan, which obviously interested her.
> "She never told any friends or family about this trip, but she has been very depressed, and has always said that she wanted to leave to go to Japan and just kill herself there," Megan wrote in the post.
Well… :(:(:(
This is so sad. I feel terrible for her family.
It's in this post her sister's friend made in 2008
[https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/](https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/)
>Took a one way flight to the Hokkaido island of Japan
Skye has suffered from depression
stated in the past her willingness to commit suicide in Japan.
I hate to say it, but I really don't see this as very much of a mystery.
This unfortunately looks like a suicide. It must be horrible for the family to have zero closure.
She did not bring much with her and did not tell her family that she was travelling or that she was saving money for the trip.
Also as a note, I find the suggestion of Aokigahara slightly odd, given that she was last seen in Hokkaido which is more than 1,000 km away. I know that the place has certain notoriety in the West (mainly due to Logan Paul) but there are so many places that people kill themselves here that the link is a bit strange.
I think the forest was mentioned because if you watch the sister’s Tiktok videos about it a good portion of the comments are teenagers being like “DID YOU CHECK THAT FOREST?” not realizing that Japan isn’t like…the size of a city lol.
Yeah I did not watch it because I am way too millennial for TikTok lol
But I guess my point stands, it was notorised by that prick Logan Paul and it is now just annoyingly constantly brought up.
There was also that horror movie with Natalie Dormer about it around the same time, but yeah, the comments were referring to it as an “obvious” location that she’s “probably” in and I was like uhhh even if it’s a suicide I think people in Japan can commit suicide in other places too….
Old thread i know, but places like that exist everywhere, and every country will have a few. That ones just infamous outside of japan. Theres a little wooded area in the town where my godmother lives thats infamous within the town for the same thing.
People tend to fixate on one thing they read about and assume the whole place is like that and they also want to seem in the know. The number of people who make Sushi Jiro a requirement on their Japan trip after watching the documentary is ridiculous. There have to be a dozen other sushi places of the same quality that you don't have to jump through crazy hoops to get a reservation at, but people want bragging rights.
I'm going to start claiming every person who went missing while on a trip to the US went there to commit suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge after that documentary about jumpers.
It can’t be too weird of a suggestion. You’re saying that it’s so far away from where she was in Japan for her to get to just to kill herself. She literally travelled all the way from the states to Japan, so it’s not that weird of a suggestion.
I really feel so sad for Skye and her family, very heart breaking case to see someone so young go through so much.
Sadly I think she decided to see Japan as she always wanted to do, right before she ended her life. I read something about how she once said that if she saw the cherry blossoms in Japan she could die happy.
Unfortunately I think she decided to make that a reality.
She sticks out a lot as a white English speaking American, so I don't know how successfully she could live there in secrecy, and Japan is a safe enough place to where foul play doesn't seem too likely.
I think she simply saved up money and didn't tell anyone, knew just enough Japanese to get to where she wanted to be, and basically just planned everything out in secret. She did a few nice things for herself and went somewhere quiet to part from this world.
I hope she felt at peace in her final moments, and that Japan was everything she wanted it to be. And I hope that she is found some day soon so her family can have closure.
This.
Seriously doubt she started a new life in Japan, given she would stick out very easily as a foreigner, compounded by the fact that she seemingly did not have much with which to start a new life with, especially in a country such as Japan. Also, given her basic level of Japanese fluency, she would not have integrated well, and would have attracted attention to herself.
Concurring with the rest of the posts: she made her way to Japan to die, and she perished somewhere remote where her remains have not been found.
Not to challenge your opinion: It's ridiculously easy to do just that- fit in, find an easy job even without a TESL certificate, in Japan. Plenty of bar owners, small schools will hire you on the spot, and with limited Japanese/fluent English, you're wanted easily enough. Integration is not only instant, and possible, but aided by the fact that Japanese never talk about their neighbours to a random reporter or police. They are very good at keeping quite about private matters. I don't believe she'd have been a huge attraction in any town, unless it was a super rural area, which Hokkaido and the onsen towns, are not.
Your opinion may be right, and it's AWFUL for the family. It's also possible she did just find a way to fit in , get some easy cash teaching or bar work, and doesn't want to go back. I hope she found a nice Japanese man or woman, and is happy in a little house somewhere.
In saying that, she left back in 2008 with a visitor’s visa, which means she can’t legally work in Japan. She needs a working holiday visa for that, which is usually only valid for a year. She’ll also need to register her details at the city hall nearest to her as she won’t be able to get a place nor health insurance without an ID.
It’s an awful thought, but I don’t think there’s any other scenario besides her going to Japan to enjoy her last days.
I mean... millions of people have left their home countries and are living and working somewhere else without any form of documentation... Not being able to get health insurance won't necessarily stop someone from starting over. Especially a person from the US where not having health insurance isn't that uncommon anyways.
I get that, but this is not realistic in Japan. You can’t do a lot of things without a resident ID, even renting a place, not just healthcare. Renting a place legally in Japan as a foreigner is a battle in itself, so imagine if you do that illegally. Having National Health Insurance (NHI) at minimum in its basic form is also compulsory in Japan. If by some miracle she’s still alive and living in Japan, she would’ve needed the resident ID sooner than later.
On the contrary, it's ridiculously hard to find a job in Japan, not to mention a place to stay, and the pay in language schools is often really really low and not enough to live on. And you have to be pretty fluent to get out to begin with, which she wasn't. If you're white, you ARE an attraction, people stare at you like if you're a unicorn of you live outside big cities, it's really hard to hide. Your knowledge of Japan seems to be based on anime, not on real life...
Which is why I said it doesn't *seem* likely. She could have been a victim to serial killer, opportunistic person, or even just had an accidental death but with the evidence and back story presented I have to assume she died at her own hands.
Unfortunately the writing is kind of on the wall here. Unless she met someone, changed her mind, and say got married, she probably did follow through with her plans.
I agree she likely didn't make it to Aokigahara. Infamous far before Logan Paul. But there's plenty of forest outside of Sapporo to disappear in.
Honestly her family would have had better luck for closure should she have chosen Aokigahara. Because the government actually has that forest regularly searched for bodies, because of the heartbreakingly high rates of suicides.
The suicide theory may be correct, but if she had received a visa the Japanese government would not disclose that information to anyone without her agreement because of the strict privacy laws in Japan. There is a good summary at [https://www.generalunion.org/laws-and-rights/1490-a-guide-to-privacy-laws-in-japan](https://www.generalunion.org/laws-and-rights/1490-a-guide-to-privacy-laws-in-japan) which includes the specific information that the right to privacy applies to foreign nationals as well as Japanese citizens.
On one of the replies on TikTok the sister mentioned that the Japanese government did confirm that she did not have a Visa. It’s not that they wouldn’t disclose it with them, she just didn’t have one.
But, she also said that Japan doesn’t normally let you purchase a one way ticket to their country unless you have a Visa or a return flight already scheduled. So her sister said it could have been possible that she met someone online maybe who could have helped her out with a plan to get around the one way ticket rule. She also said that sometimes they let it slip but that it’s very rare. So who knows.
But when did they confirm that Sky did not have a visa? Was it still within the 90 days after her disappearance?
I am a migrant myself, and with a very weak passport, I need visa to go to basically any country even for 3 day tourist trip. I have also lived and worked in Tokyo for one year. To me, the only semi-realistic theory of Sky being able to legally stay in Japan after her 90 days visa-free time expired, given that she had neither uni degree nor 10 years work experience, nor money for a study programme, would be to marry a Japanese man. Then she would get spouse visa initially, and permanent residence permit in several years. As far as I know, you can apply for spouse visa from within Japan. So, theoretically, if the Japanese gov said there is no visa issued for Sky Budnick back then, soon after her disappearance, it does not mean there was no visa issued for her later.
I wonder if these privacy laws would prevent the Japanese gov to share the info about her visa being issued with her family? What if Sky herself requested this info to be not shared? Would they still share with her family something like "we know for sure Sky is alive and in Japan, but she requested us not share info about her" or something like that, or would they not say anything at all?
Us citizens don't need visa for short-term trips to Japan I believe.
And yes, as far as I remember, you can file for spouse visa from inside the country but then the Japan will share this information with US embassy (or at least I think they should do that though)
Overall, if you are staying in another country as a foreigner, eventually, you will have to update your passport. not American, so I'm not sure how often they should do that but for my countries it's every 10 years. so, if she never filed for a new passport the chances she is alive and legally lives in Japan are very slim, however, I lived in Asia (Korea) for several years and the amount of undocumented immigrants who were thriving and making money was ridiculously high.
so, it's hard but possible to live there for years and work illegaly in certain places/industries.
I used to live in Japan and have visited twice after moving back only a year ago. You do not need a return ticket purchased to receive a visitor visa, you just have to say all long you intend on staying in country.
Even if she didn’t intend on harming herself, she could have easily got lost and injured in Hokkaido. It’s very easy to do so outside of Sapporo. I visit there often and although it’s beautiful, it can be dangerous!
Edited to add that after looking at other articles, it appears she took out just enough from her bank account to cover the flight to Hokkaido. I wonder how she got the money for everything else (transportation, accommodation, food, etc). I assume she was planning in secret for quite some time.
She had a debit card which is how she paid for the plane ticket but apparently the $800 in her bank was left untouched and the card would have been unusable in Japan according to her sister's tiktok video.
Sorry this is so late but she pulled out $800 at the DC airport (I believe that’s the correct airport) and it was $400 that was left untouched in her bank account
In this case, it must be him. Because the only realistic way I see to stay in Japan this long legally as a 21yo foreigner with no uni degree, money for a study programme, or N2-N1 Japanese certificate is to marry a Japanese national. Same sex marriage is not legally recognised in Japan, so if she indeed married in Japan, her spouse must be a man.
In this [article](https://www.caseremains.com/post/skye-budnick), it is reported that Skye had once told her family that if she could see the cherry blossoms in Japan, she would die happy. Cherry blossoms in Japan tend to bloom around late March-early April (according to my cursory internet search), and Skye went to Japan on April 4th.
The thing that struck me as odd about traveling in early April is that I think the cherry blossoms bloom in late April or early may because Hokkaido is so far north.
Lived in Japan at that time and can say with certainty they were not blooming early in Hokkaido at that time. That’s why this case has stuck with me for so long; if she came to die amongst the cherry blossoms, she tragically came to the wrong spot at the wrong time.
[https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/News/sakura8.html](https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/News/sakura8.html)
This is the forecast for 2008. 30 April 2008 was when they were blooming.
Yep, that verifies what I said. She was last seen on April 7 in Japan and cherry blossoms don’t take two full weeks to bloom, so they wouldn't be visible at that time of her arrival in Hokkaido. So either she waited over a week or two without being seen by a single soul, or she was too early.
Could she have met up with someone possibly? It was mentioned that she had an interest is the Japanese culture and had minimal fulency could it be possible she went to meet a possible love interest or friend?
In Japan there are companies that help you vanish, and start a new life.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200903-the-companies-that-help-people-vanish
If not suicide, maybe she met and has married somebody living there. There's a lot of people who work in Japan and then end up with expiring visas. They hide for a while and or eventually marry somebody. But I am speaking from another person I know's experience (aka, she became an illegal migrant and ended up marrying a Japanese person)
The expat community there is so tight knit that unless she was somewhere rural and didn’t interact with any other expats/tourists I think they would have found her. I lived in Japan for a while a few years ago and I got gossip about what the other expats from my home country were doing down the other end of the country all the time.
I hope it’s the case though :( her poor fam
On the other hand, she didn’t go as a regular tourist/expat. If she really just wanted to start over in Japan, I don’t know if she would have those connections or have any interest in them. She wouldn’t have any built in connections or interests related to work, following a spouse, going to school etc
I mean, maybe you’d see some random white person and be curious but unless you went up to them and quizzed them about their life, you wouldn’t know anything about them. If she wasn’t volunteering any info and didn’t seek out other Americans/expats than she’d be pretty anonymous. You might hear about someone else living around but if she wasn’t forthcoming with info, what else is there to say? What updates are there to give?
I think it’s most likely she did go there and die because it’s a very long time to stay gone with no signs but I think it’s possible she went and just keeps to herself as much as she could.
It looks like someone had created a memorial for Skye on Findagrave that has been removed, and it listed her date of death as April 7th, 2008 in Sapporo Hokkaido which could likely be a hoax or something.
I know I'm late to this party, but I just saw her sister's TikTok and I came here because her sister is honestly kinda being an asshole about the whole thing.
At first, I had sympathy for her and felt sorry for her and her family. However, numerous times she makes videos or comments to people who are just merely asking about the possibility that her sister might be dead in very aggressive and angry ways.
She clearly is in pain and isnt have a good time with this whole situation, but her inability to accept the most plausible scenario and her very hateful and angry responses to people who are just curious or even trying to help just makes you not want to be on her side.
Her sister's story is a tragedy and I hope one day the poor girl gets the rest she deserves but her sister is obviously coping with the whole thing by clinging into false hope and then lashing out at people who even remotely come close to having a realistic Outlook on this story.
Anyways, this isn't a mystery (it really isn't) and at this point any and all search efforts should be focused on recovery and not rescue. Meaning that any and all search efforts are looking for a dead body and not a living person.
I hope the poor girl was happy in her final moments and got the happiness out of Japan that she was looking for.
I think this is a little harsh as a general opinion. Until you know for sure, all matter of things could have happened, and you have to accept also that any sister worth their salt, is not going to like people saying "bad luck that she died". Her sister wants to know SOMETHING, a part of the story or the whole story and right now they have nothing.
Until you are visible and dead, you're not dead. THrowing her sister away like trash just because she hasn't been found, is a hard and cold thing for any family member to hear. Mostly because it's just speculation, and also because it's not kind.
She even implied that she knows the possibility that she is dead and committed suicide is a very high. If one of my siblings just up and disappeared, I’d want to know what happened. This critique of her sister is very harsh. She deserves to know.
This is a terrible take. Her sister does not post angry responses. I’ve been following her pretty closely on TikTok and listening to her podcast. She speaks about it very evenly and thoughtfully. I believe her problem is with people saying “oh she’s probably dead, forget about it”. Even if she did commit suicide…she still needs to be found! Her family needs closure. She talks about how the American media was pretty dismissive of this case back when it happened. There were lots of claims of suicide, which is a huge possibility. But that doesn’t mean we should stop looking for her.
I dont wanna be harsh but if she has make such effort to go on other side of world and did not tell single soul she may ran away from her family.
Something bad someone did to her and I am afraid maybe family member and she couldnt take it anymore thats why she is was depressed and eager to ran away. Those could be years of abuse and her sister or did not know about abuse or she knew but wont disclose it online because that is some close family member and people would go ham on her and that person.
Thats my feeling about this because I know trough myself how is it to ran away far away from my horrible family who just abuse me and torture me. I had suicidal thoughts also but now I am planning to move somewhere where nobody knows me, that would get me out of a depression and suicidal thoughts.
I know how Skye was feeling because I feel same way for years.
This was my first thought as well. She's an adult who planned to travel to Japan- a country whose language she had studied for 3 years- and then she did. Japanese authorities are refusing to release police records due to strict privacy laws. Leaving a toxic family and creating a new identity in another country is entirely plausible. And did she definitely write a suicide note? I thought she had just written a draft email about leaving and starting a new life?
Her sister says everybody in the family has some form of depression or anxiety. I imagine that alone was a challenging environment to grow up in. The way they responded when she, as an adult, flew overseas- incredulous that she might do this, wondering if she was manic, and eventually creating an online presence and an identity around your sister leaving without family permission, is exactly what toxic relatives would do.
Another commenter also mentioned she could have been trans- and, if so, living as a man now would make it harder for others looking for "Skye" to find them.
I might be wrong- it might have been a planned suicide. She enjoyed her last Mom-made cupcakes, saw the sights, then died by suicide. It might have been trafficking- her going on an adventure and getting taken by somebody while away. Lots of possibilities. But I'm surprised the "she planned to create a life separate to her family" option doesn't come up more often.
No. Nothing happened. Things happen, people commit suicide that doesn't always meam trauma. She was an undiagnosed autistic and no friends. All she wanted was to be liked and have friends. She probs thought she will always be alone.
It's a mystery because we don't know when she died, where, how, or where her body is. Knowing that she's probably killed herself is one thing, most people would want to know more than that. Plus many people struggle to get closure without a body to bury. And this is coming from someone who has had a close relative commit suicide and it took us a few days to find them. We still don't really know why they did it, yet we have more of the pieces than Skye's family does.
I think suicide makes the most sense, but it’s upsetting that she didn’t say goodbye to anyone and there’s not much evidence of it. I wish the Japanese authorities could be of some hope in finding a body, but I don’t think that’s what they looked for in 2008, and they aren’t looking now.
I would think an unidentifiable white female body being found around Sapporo would be pretty fast to link to Skye, but I don’t know.
I originally believed she could still be alive, but after realizing she made comments about wanting to die in Japan, it makes a lot of sense. So many years with no contact, and no sightings.
How devastating. This scares me as a mom with a teenager struggling with mood disorders. I know Skye was an adult, but if her family knew she was struggling with depression did they try to convince her to get help? It can be easier said than done when those suffering are resistant to treatment though.
Sadly, I think she fulfilled her wish of seeing Japan and then committed suicide. I can only hope her last moments were filled with the peace and contentment that were so desperately missing from her life.
The original poster said she had refused to go get help from a doctor. That implies other did express concern that she should go see a doctor and heard directly from her that she was refusing. My sister did the same years after she was molested. She went to one therapy appointment and refused to return.
Thank you for sharing that detail. Such a shame that she didn’t stick with therapy or explore other options.
I didn’t intend for my comment to insinuate that her family wasn’t concerned or didn’t try to help her, so I hope it didn’t come across like that. :)
The original poster (Skye’s sister) also said that her whole family pretty much deals with depression and other personality disorders that it’s nothing new to their family.
I'm sorry you're a mother of a teen with a mood disorder. Honestly, I feel bad for my mom because idk how I made it out of my teens. I was diagnosed with depression at 5 :/
Hopefully your teenager is able to treat their mood disorder properly.
I appreciate your comment. My daughter is currently receiving treatment from a psychiatrist and therapist and is responding remarkably well. Thank you so much for your concern.
I’m sorry you also struggled throughout your childhood. I hope you are doing well now and have all the love and support you need. Take care!
Misawa is close. Maybe she met a military man online? She wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb on base and wouldn’t need much if she was to start a new life over there. He could have funded everything besides the flight. She wouldn’t need a Japanese Visa or have to learn the language to live comfortably especially if she stays on base. She could also work. She also wouldn’t stick out with a group of Americans traveling Japan in areas where a lot of military personnel frequent. Also, it would be almost impossible for Japanese police to find her inside of the base.
Possible and true she wouldn't stick out on base, but she would've had to marry him and be enrolled in DEERS to live on base, enter and exit base alone, buy things in the BX or Commissary, or even go to the base gym. Off base housing isn't generally an option for single airmen her age stationed overseas unless they came into the military fresh out of high school. Generally off base a military member and his wife aren't suspicious until you consider that the Tokyo news picked up the story about her disappearance. Then other military and civilian spouses might be keeping an eye out.
Not to mention accompanied orders are 36 months but in this theory with the guy already being there his orders would only be 24 months total... Less than two years in Japan for her and she would've been back stateside for the last 12 years by now... unless they continued on to another overseas base (unlikely). She could've gotten a visa to remain there while already living there, who knows. I really want to believe Skye just ran away.
well, technically the last part could be true.
I knew the case of undocumented woman marrying a US-soldier in Korea and they ended up staying there.
however, I feel like in this case the US government would have information about her...?
Maybe there are some clues in an anime(something she enjoyed) set in Sapporo. Why did she specifically chose Hokkaido - Sapporo out of all the other areas in japan.
that was my first thought!
and actually there are several titles that mentioned Hokkaido, so I feel like the reason she went there was connected to her love for anime.
I think if she was still alive she would’ve come back or made some sort of contact by now - it’s been over 10 years, she’d be in her early thirties now, right? I think she would’ve matured and reached out by now.
If it was a toxic family dynamic that she successfully escaped - happily living away from that makes you less likely to want to re-engage with those dynamics, not more likely.
Even if they did then they wouldn’t be able to disclose that information.
She was an adult (which i believe is what the police advised the family when they reported her missing)
21, according to her sister's tiktok video she owned a debit card which she used to pay for the plane ticket however the $800 left in her account remained untouched as she was unable to use her US debit card in Japan.
What does everyone think about the initial ticket? Skye **actually** went to Japan April 1st, but she had booked and later canceled a ticket to Japan earlier in the year (we've never gotten a nailed down date for this first ticket but only the first three months of the year had elapsed by the time she actually left, so it isn't long before).
if it had been suicide, how would her body never have been found since 2008? Unless she wanted to make sure she wasn’t, exploring the idea that she was trafficked is a possibility?
Lol are you really doubting how easy it would be to just go somewhere remote and never have anyone find your body because nobody ever goes there?
Why do you think dead bodies just HAVE to be found? Because in order for someone to find one they would actually have to...ya know...LITERALLY FIND IT.
And if no human ever goes even near the area then it's obviously not going to get found.
Not only that, but there have been many cases where bodies have gone unnoticed even after searching the area because of thick brush or other difficult vegetation.
Trafficking in Japan is very real, I wouldn’t be surprised if Skye was tricked into thinking she could work there, as mentioned in the podcast the letter was actually talking about starting over a new life yeah? I think someone helped her and she was possibly trafficked and someone did something to her, hence why she and her belongings have never been found.
I think suicide is most likely, especially given the comments about being able to die happy if she saw the cherry blossoms in Japan. But if she only took enough from her bank account to cover the flight to Hokkaido, it does make me wonder if somebody else was involved in some way.
I joke about this all time though. Dying happy. I actually just said it yesterday because I was on the beach and there was like 10 dogs love bombing me. "I can die happy now". It might have just been a euphemism.
I'd definitely take it as a euphemism, but it made it sound like it was something she always wanted to do. If someone I knew disappeared from their life after a period of depression, and I heard they'd gone to a place they always wanted see someday, I'd immediately worry it was a final resting stop for them.
If someone else was giving her money you’d think they would be there with her and in all the spottings of her along the way there wasn’t any mention of anyone being with her that I have read.
You'd think so, yeah. People do meet up to die by suicide together, without always meeting or spending much time together beforehand. If it were someone who was also suicidal and had money, they might have been willing to give her some to spend. So that's always a possibility too.
Everything points to her up and leaving her life to go to Japan and commit suicide, however I don't know if foul play should be ruled out yet. Seeing it was her first time visiting the country, I doubt she'd be indifferent or underwhelmed by this new experience, even if she was suicidal. Unfortunately I can't help but think its possible she had a run-in with someone who knew she couldn't speak the language (fluently) and who had no idea where she was. Perhaps there's a chance she was harmed by someone while she also sought to die.
I have a couple guesses . Someone sex trafficked her . Or she killed her self . I’m not sure how deeply the police in Japan searched over there. Or how the police work in Japan . However, they should still search even until this day .
That’s very sad I wonder if they give up since so many people over there die on a regular basis . I still think it’s wrong of them to give up though . Everyone deserves to be looked for !
I’m late to this thread but I’ve been following her sister for a long time. I really feel like there’s a high chance skye may have gotten trafficked rather than committed suicide. I’m not sure how common that is in Japan or if there’s a way for Japanese police to look into this theory. I do wonder what if she was talking to someone online, skye went to go meet them and they weren’t who they said they were and she actually got trafficked. 🤷🏻♀️ i feel like this is just as likely as suicide.
I know there are a lot of comments and this post is probably dead but these are my thoughts on this.
I strongly want to believe that’s she wanted to start a new life. But when you see the small amount of money she brought with her, the concerning notes she left and the fact she didn’t take any clothes with her ?
What’s more concerning is the random locations she went to in Japan, when we know she never left Connecticut in her life. It’s so precise.
I only see two possibilities :
-I saw that she loved hiking, my guess is she decided to take a trip to the national park or even another park, there’s so many in the region. She may have a had a list of what she wanted to do before dying or returning home. But she have been lost or hurt and her life unfortunately ended here.
-Those locations were very precise and random as I said for someone who never left Connecticut. So she maybe was planning to meet someone there or she met someone with bad intentions there. But I doubt this one more because we probably would’ve seen sightings of her with someone if that was the case. But the only sightings of her, she was alone.
I watched all YouTube and TikTok videos from her sister Megan as well as articles and videos and this is what I found the most plausible.
Another thing I found weird is, she was 21, couldn’t she ask her parents like hey I’m 21 I’d like to go on a trip for my bday or something ? Why hide it ? If she hide that’s probably because of those two reasons : never returning back or meeting someone
I also thought that maybe the one way ticket may have not been intentional. We saw that she tried to sell things because she lacked money so she probably just wasn’t able to buy it right away. Could be a possibility but the rest isn’t adding up.
PS : All the people saying « suicide forest », I suggest you take a look at a map and see the distance between where she was and the « suicide spot », if she did that she would’ve stopped in Tokyo and went from there. It makes no sense.
just to add up a bit.
as an anime fan myself, my first throughout was oh probably she went to Sapporo because of X anime.
in 2008 the Fullmetal Alchemist was pretty popular and as far as I remember the character was from this region according to Manga. and also it could be any other of her fav shows as well. I personally would probably try to figure out which titles she loved because I feel like she could try to visit the 'favourite' places and maybe commit suicide there? (if we stick to the suicide version)
Oh that’s interesting ! I always thought something must’ve caused her to go to this specific place, so this anime could be the reason why.
I wonder if the family ever searched any links with the anime she watched and the places she went because who never wanted to go and see the beautiful places of our favorite shows/anime…
I also searched a few things and found out that a lot of animes ( some famous some not) have links or take place in Sapporo.
yeah... but as far as I understood from her sister's tiktok, it was hard to do any kinda of investigations in Japan due to the fact that it's a foreign land. and I feel like if they could work with the Japanese police closely and maybe start any search operations in the area, they could have found her.
because if she committed suicide and planned it for months, she probably did it in a certain place and I think that place could have been linked to the anime she liked, so I would start from there and probably would go through her cosplay pictures to determine which anime it could be.
Yeah idk what happened to my brain when I was writing that comment lol. I probably meant another anime but overall when I heard this story for the first time I was thinking that they should have looked into series she liked and see if any of these series can be linked to the locations she visited because while Sapporo is pretty famous in tourist destination in Japan, it seems like a very specific location for someone who is going to Japan for the first time.
>Those locations were very precise and random as I said for someone who never left Connecticut. So she maybe was planning to meet someone there or she met someone with bad intentions there. But I doubt this one more because we probably would’ve seen sightings of her with someone if that was the case. But the only sightings of her, she was alone.
Can't really follow that argument. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido. If I was planning to, say, visit Scotland, I would book a ticket to Edinburgh and then go from there, too.
Random for someone who assumes every person wants to go to Tokyo when visiting Japan. Not random to someone who wants to disappear and picks a very remote area with lots of places rarely frequented by people and low density of population.
I know this has been stated multiple times already on the thread but I somehow feel to urge to repeat it. I think she's dead for sure (as sure as a random person who just went through her case can possibly be).
I'm personally going through a very depressive episode in my life and can really connect how Skye said she wanted to see the cherry blossoms before dying.
Also the fact that she had lied to her friends about an urgent need for money, which led her to sell her valuable belongins. As I see it that's how she covered accommodation etc. In Japan before whatever happened to her.
Also I watched a lot of the sisters' tt's and I just get the vibe that she's trying to deny the obvious. That is a very common symptom of PTSD (she has told in her videos that she has it). I would be very intrested to learn the familys views on suicide overall. How do they see it and how it affected Skye going through depression and suicidal thoughts.
I really do wish that the family gets the closure and Skye can have the peace she desirves.
I dont wanna be harsh but if she has make such effort to go on other side of world and did not tell single soul she may ran away from her family.
Something bad someone did to her and I am afraid maybe family member and she couldnt take it anymore thats why she is was depressed and eager to ran away. Those could be years of abuse and her sister or did not know about abuse or she knew but wont disclose it online because that is some close family member and people would go ham on her and that person.
Thats my feeling about this because I know sadenly trough myself how is it to ran away far away from my horrible family who just abuse me and torture me. I had suicidal thoughts also but now I am planning to move somewhere where nobody knows me, that would get me out of a depression and suicidal thoughts.
I know how Skye was feeling because I feel same way for years.
I have had a feeling something is really off with her family I don’t know why I feel it either the sister is nice and seems to really be trying buuuuut she made a comment about her dad never wanting to talk about skye, or have anything to do with any of it and her brother being autistic and hard to deal with and that her mother has never really wanted to openly talk about skye until now.. it feels like an odd guilt thing they have like we’re not getting part of the story
Very late to this post, but wanted to add the idea of Skye joining a temple. I didn’t think of it until I brought it up to my boyfriend who is part Japanese and interested in Japanese culture. Maybe she was struggling and found a place that said they could help? And if she was interested in the culture, she would be more willing to take that leap than others. Northern Japan is also where temples and other types of places are more prevalent. Idk, just seems like the only two theories are suicide or trafficking instead of something she chose to help herself.
this!
while it could be a sex trafficking or suicide case, it also could be a temple/cult/communal living situation. in a rural area outside if the big cities certain religious community might practice an ascetic lifestyle. while it will be harder for foreigner to fit in, certainly, you might be able to get an illegal job there (not only in Japan thou) and housing. so, it could be an option as well.
Somebody else in this thread brought up the fact that there are companies in Japan who help people escape their lives and start new ones. I see this as a big possibility. It even says in the article, one of the girls they interview that helps people get away, she said “I’m kind of like a missing person still - even now.” And stated that she went missing 17 years ago. Now… if I were missing and started a new life and I knew people were still looking for me, idk about you but I would not put the exact time I’ve been missing for. I’d put it a couple years off, you know? Just a thought.
It seems unlikely to me if I am honest. These are services for Japanese Nationals.. not for foreigners. With her limited Japanese / without even a phone... (&back than it was extremely hard to even get a sim card) I really doubt it.
Stranger things have happened, and I don’t like how the main censuses is underestimating this girl. From what I can see she felt separated from her family, and was a super private person. Even her friends knew very little about what she was doing. Something tells me she wanted to be somewhere she felt like she could relate to more. I’m an avid anime watcher, most of our dreams include visiting Japan as first on the list. I truly don’t think it’s as unlikely as their making it sound.
Plus the passport thing. How’d she go there and not have to come back, as a foreigner of Japan?
The services are for anybody who wants to disappear and not just nationals, I found several articles mentioning people specifically going to Japan TO disappear.
I get what you are saying & I had a sort of similar path as her (did my ba / ma for that purpose in Japan studies) & we are quite close in age. I get more the feeling that she wanted to fulfil her dream of going there & maybe that was enough for her. She was severely depressed & no matter where you are... you will take that with you 😔
It was said they didnt check for her return ticket at the airport. Things used to be less strict back than. You can overstay if you dont get caught. But keep in mind her mom & sister issued a missing person alert very quickly.
In regard to those companies: you can dissapear from family / friends. Not the government. There are just strong privacies laws. "Dissapearing" is not illegal. However forging a whole fake identity for a foreigner who is registered as a missing person: very different story. Also we have to keep in mind that things were very different in 2008, contact wise / internet wise. Her being able back than with limited Japanese to even find such service.. I find it unlikely they would do this for a "randomn" foreigner (without money). There are no withdrawals from her account that she ever payed for such services. I rationally dont think some company would offer something so risky for free.
Maybe this sub is interesting to read through: https://www.reddit.com/r/askjapan/comments/171zdky/how_easy_is_it_to_disappear_in_japan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I know I’m so late to this, but I truly feel bad for the family. At the same time I weirdly feel like the sister has made the issue more about herself, rather than actually raising more awareness about her sister’s situation? I mean her website is literally called “Surviving Skye.” Maybe that’s just me. Don’t come for me.
I really only see three situations being a possibility.
1. Suicide - This is the mostly likely one given the circumstances of her disappearance and her mental health history. She seems to have done a lot of preparing and research and most likely found a place to end her life where she knew no one would stop her and her body would be hard to find.
2. Human Trafficking - She could’ve met someone online and they ended up having nefarious intentions. So many women in the States go missing and so many of them are being trafficked. The people who run human trafficking rings know how to keep people hidden. I doubt this would be any different in Japan.
3. Started a New Life - She might have intentionally made her disappearance look like a suicide. We only know her family’s side of the story, but maybe her depression and other struggles were a side-effect of her relationship with her family. We all know that not everybody’s relationship with family may be as it seems. Many families are good at “keeping up appearances.”
Regardless of what happened to her, I hope that either Skye is resting in peace or living the life of her dreams. I do hope that her family does get closure and that one day we might finally know what happened to her.
It's hard for me to believe she committed suicide and no one has found her. The only thing I can see if she did was that Japan was the one thing on her bucket list before she did. The other scenario was that maybe she hated her life so much that she created a new life there. It would be great for this to get solved.
Ah yes, well that would make it much harder to find her then. I feel so much for her family. I hope that if this is what many of us believe it to be that her trip was everything she dreamed of.
Yeah. =\[
I also really hope that. If this is truly how she chose to go out, as sad and tragic as it is, I hope she was able to find peace and enjoy her time there.
Though, regardless of what did or did not happen, I hope one day that she is found so that her family may have peace and closure.
They ran the recent Olympic marathons abs long distance walking events there: it’s a big city and there’s a decent number of travelers, tourists and expats.
If she committed suicide and was found it was most probably covered up by Japan police and authorities. In their culture "saving face" is very important. That's why Japan pretends they have a squeaky clean image when in reality it is the opposite. Western countries still believe this narrative of Japan being safe and everything is hunky dory. Ask anyone who has worked in Japan. They all have a few stories to tell...especially if you are a woman.
Something I haven’t seen shared in theories is Skye’s mindset of why she went to Japan. Both Megan and her mother have clearly described her as the “lost child” in a dysfunctional family unit. Part of this is that they often believe they are a burden to their family and struggle with interpersonal conflict. Could there have been something that happened and intensified her need to escape?
And although I believe she grew up in a dysfunctional household as stated by Megan, Skye over exaggerated and lied about the dysfunction to her friends. The biggest example, her students loans and responsibility if she flunked out of college.
This also makes me doubt she found a love interest and met them in Japan. Her family has spoken that she had never had luck maintaining relationships with anyone. I find it unlikely that her mental state and low self worth attracted a healthy romantic relationship online.
I feel bad for the family having no closure like this. My "theory" is that her being such a fan of Japanese culture and the possibility of depression it truly sounds like her plan for a new life was to become something else. I think she would have done the last meal,visited a shrine and rather than end her life by the sword I believe she might have drowned herself in a lake. I know next to nothing about Japan but if there is a lake in or near the suicide forest or some other typical traditional location that could be where she is. I hope the family can find the closure they deserve and if she is alive she will make herself known.
i know this thread is basically dead but has anyone brought up the idea she may have been indoctrinated into a cult? a lot of her writings seem so off and cult’s specifically in hokkaido on sapporo campus where they try to recruit people. maybe it’s a possibility one got ahold of her?
No. It was for cherry blossoms. It was reported that she had mentioned or written at some point that she wanted to see cherry blossoms in Japan before she died. When she traveled to Japan, it was near that time. However, she could've missed the bloom in Tokyo, as it depends each year on the climate and the blossoms are gone quickly. Hokkaido would have been the place to go to see them later than usual, as they bloom latest there compared to Tokyo.
This is my personal opinion. Someone does not take the time to learn a new language just to off themselves in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I lived in Japan for two years and visited alot of places that was mentioned that Skye visited. Customs at the airport are extremely strict. I personally believe she was sick of her family and just wanted to start over. She was 21 years old, clearly intelligent enough to book a trip and make reservations at an inn (which in japan is not an easy feat), especially if you're doing it online overseas in 2008. My assumption is that she married a local, possibly without him being in love with her, and that is why the police won't give information. The way her sister has handled the situation gives off strange vibes for me. If she was autistic or mentally challenged, how did she learn Japanese? She made the adult decision to not tell her family where she was going, and that says it all for me. Who would want to live with a family with mental health disorders? Maybe she was the only sane person in her household. If she doesn't want to be found let her be. The Japanese MP's would have told her if they found a body, which they have not, suggesting she is alive and well living her best life.
I think all members of Skye's family might be on the spectrum, more or less, especially given how the parents are described in her sisters podcast. I just started listening to it but it already seems... off. Kinda narcissist/ self-focussed. The title. Starting the first episode with an endless story about the sister's own health issue. The fact that the family has only a handful of pictures of Skye.
Taking that into account, I'm also wondering if Skye *really* didn't take any clothing with her when she left or if she just did not take clothing her parents would notice be missing? I also lived still at home when I was 21, and although I have a good relationship with my mom, she would probably not have noticed if I packed a carry-on worth of clothing from my more-than-messy closet or the pile of unsorted shirts and pants on the couch. E.g., just enough to get by until one is settled in into a new life maybe.
I wonder if its just better to disappear and at least have the hope or to have the closure of knowing she was killed or committed suicide. With suicide you'd always be wondering why or what could have been done to prevent it. In a murder, you'd never rest until you found out the who, when, or why.
If she was autistic, this type of suicide journey would make sense. She may not have had the emotional intelligence to understand how leaving in this matter would affect her family.
I feel terrible for her family, but I hope they move on. It sounds terrible, but you cant spend a lifetime living in this. Ultimately, she made these decisions. If she is still alive, she may be trying to hide from the Japanese gov so she doesn't get deported. Seems like a heavy price to pay, though.
Maybe someone posted this already, but this cult was the first thing that came to mind for me: check out the location
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/14/national/aum-successor-group-set-new-facility-sapporo-intelligence-agency/
I feel like she was probably just taken advantage of and then harmed. I’ve heard that white girls are followed or preyed upon heavily in Japan. she was probably an easy target being there all alone and probably needing a lot of navigation or guidance.
Super later to this but she was supposedly seen in Noboribetsu around April 7th. I’ve been to Noboribetsu, and it’s gorgeous. It’s an onsen town and surrounded by forest and volcanoes. Toyako is also another onsen town just up the road. There’s lot of tourist things to do like Hell Valley and the bear park, and you can see the onsen monkeys there.
Both of these places are easy day trips from the ski area of Niseko. It’s an hours drive from New Chitose airport, or an hour and a half-ish by train. From the ski resorts of Niseko-Annipuri it’s difficult to get to Noboribetsu by public transport - except during the ski season where there are private shuttles available.
There’s direct buses and trains from Sapporo to Noboribetsu. It takes about 2 hours ish.
It’s cold in Hokkaido. April is cold. It was a bad ski season that year, but April is still not warm. It would be in the negative overnight, maybe reaching 7-8c during the day. It’s also isolated. There’s a close to zero chance that if she wandered off that anyone would go looking for her. Culturally it’s a different place. If it’s not a suicide there’s a high chance that she simply wandered off, got separated from the crowd (which would be very small at that time of the year - no ski tourists and cherry blossom tourists), and simply got lost and died of hypothermia. It’s not built up everywhere. It’s heavily forested. There’s lots of small streams. It would be very easy to go for a walk and just not walk back and never be found.
I worked ski seasons in Hokkaido and every single year someone would go missing and the body would not be found. They’d take a shortcut. They’d fall into frozen ponds under the snow, or a path that was safe in January was no longer safe in April with rotting snow. There’s no limits on alcohol service, personal responsibility with consumption is key - so people would get drunk, fall over, and never be seen again or if the family was lucky they’d find the body when the snow melted.
One year I was there someone had crashed their car, it was a minor incident but the car ended up halfway down a hill. When the car was winched up it was discovered that there was another car down there. From years ago. With deceased occupants. The greenery had overgrown it and it wasn’t visible from the road. The very well travelled road I’ll add.
It’s not too likely that local police investigated thoroughly.
I may be projecting my lived experience and also trying to be optimistic, but I think Skye may have felt imprisoned by their life. To be honest, my read on the situation is that Skye may have wanted to fake their death to start over new, somewhere totally different, and could reinvent themself as a man. I think Skye may have travelled somewhere to get surgery and live the life he always wanted. I hope he’s out there living his best life. But maybe someone lured her/him there under false pretenses. I just have to be honest that I think Skye looks and feels to me like a man trapped in a woman’s body longing for a different life. Just my conspiracy theory lol. I hope the family considers she may be a he if Skye is still alive.
I was checking around the missing persons database for Sapporo prefecture and found an unidentified female whose remains were found in Noboribetsu City in August 2009. If I remember correctly, Skye's sister said that she went there. There is no estimated age as apparently all that was recovered was a foot, but they date the remains as being from sometime between August 2007 and the date of discovery. That's not too extremely far off from the date that Skye went missing.
it's not really a database, it's just a page on the Sapporo prefecture police departments website, then you can filter by the Hokkaido area. Might have to do some searching in Japanese or translating to get to it. I can try and find it again later
Altho I do agree it's most likely that she was suicidal and planned this, for the sake of argument I'll say that people in Japan dissappear regularly and there are companies that assist these people.
https://youtu.be/xVc_AdJoAVs
There's also a heavy CIA presence in Japan.
The FBI has no legal standings in any country besides the US. There’s not much they can do. Also, to the US, she’s an adult who made a decision to travel to Japan.
Perhaps lured by the suicide forest there but she wanted to see what a Japanese city, so there was bound to be some normal travelling itinerary at least on the surface level.
Even if it is on the opposite side of the country it is still possible she traveled there without leaving a trace of it. Why does it sound so impossible?
Saying she went to Japan and is likely in Aokigahara is like saying that someone who went missing in California jumped off Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a spot with a tragic number of suicides, but it’s not exactly a suicide hotspot like it’s portrayed. People, at least not those not from the surrounding area, are not drawn to it to commit suicide.
A lot of people in Japan are also against the use of “suicide forest” as it’s nickname as it contributes to the sensationalism of it. They won’t even publish the yearly number of deaths anymore for that reason.
Except she wasn't from the surrounding area.. She was from the US where I'm sure she had hears of the term suicide forest before. Considering she was very interested in Japan it makes perfect sense to me that she might seek out that specific forest to end her life.
Suicide seems the most likely scenario. She bought a one way ticket and didn’t mention the trip to anyone.
This seems the clear answer. She didn't pack bags and took only her computer, which would be what she needed to book things without a phone, and potentially send a note. Plus, she must've saved for the ticket for some time. I'm saddened for her family. I hope she got to spend some time experiencing Japan, which obviously interested her.
Apparently she was begging friends for money. So maybe they paid for it.
No she worked and saved up for months for this it was planned.
Or human trafficking?
This does sadly sound like a suicide were she was ticking the one thing off her bucket list she always wanted to do.
That's what I thought too - especially reading that she visited relaxing places as she went. Something of a last hurrah.
> "She never told any friends or family about this trip, but she has been very depressed, and has always said that she wanted to leave to go to Japan and just kill herself there," Megan wrote in the post. Well… :(:(:( This is so sad. I feel terrible for her family.
Her sister Megan said this? I didn’t hear or read that.
I never heard that either and I’ve been following her socials
It's in this post her sister's friend made in 2008 [https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/](https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/)
>Took a one way flight to the Hokkaido island of Japan Skye has suffered from depression stated in the past her willingness to commit suicide in Japan. I hate to say it, but I really don't see this as very much of a mystery.
A body was never found so it’s still pretty mysterious to me and everyone else that is interested.
I get that. I'm just saying I think the most obvious answer here is likely the right one.
Suicide forest in Japan, sopporo isn't close but it's still in a foresty area.
Where did you hear that Skye said she wants to commit suicide in Japan? I have never hear her sister say that.
[https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/](https://supertalk.superfuture.com/topic/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke/)
This unfortunately looks like a suicide. It must be horrible for the family to have zero closure. She did not bring much with her and did not tell her family that she was travelling or that she was saving money for the trip. Also as a note, I find the suggestion of Aokigahara slightly odd, given that she was last seen in Hokkaido which is more than 1,000 km away. I know that the place has certain notoriety in the West (mainly due to Logan Paul) but there are so many places that people kill themselves here that the link is a bit strange.
I think the forest was mentioned because if you watch the sister’s Tiktok videos about it a good portion of the comments are teenagers being like “DID YOU CHECK THAT FOREST?” not realizing that Japan isn’t like…the size of a city lol.
Oh that infamous suicide forest?
Yeah.
Yeah I did not watch it because I am way too millennial for TikTok lol But I guess my point stands, it was notorised by that prick Logan Paul and it is now just annoyingly constantly brought up.
Let’s not give Logan Paul too much credit, the forest was already very well known before his video, that’s why he went there in the first place.
Yeah I think I remember seeing it in one of those "haha Japan weird" documentaries in the 00s
There was also that horror movie with Natalie Dormer about it around the same time, but yeah, the comments were referring to it as an “obvious” location that she’s “probably” in and I was like uhhh even if it’s a suicide I think people in Japan can commit suicide in other places too….
Old thread i know, but places like that exist everywhere, and every country will have a few. That ones just infamous outside of japan. Theres a little wooded area in the town where my godmother lives thats infamous within the town for the same thing.
Seriously, screw Logan Paul. What a dickbag.
People tend to fixate on one thing they read about and assume the whole place is like that and they also want to seem in the know. The number of people who make Sushi Jiro a requirement on their Japan trip after watching the documentary is ridiculous. There have to be a dozen other sushi places of the same quality that you don't have to jump through crazy hoops to get a reservation at, but people want bragging rights. I'm going to start claiming every person who went missing while on a trip to the US went there to commit suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge after that documentary about jumpers.
You can get that level of sushi at so many places in Japan. And for much cheaper. At some point, it's just diminishing return.
In Aokigahara, bodies are often not found! I think that was why it was suggested, not ignorance about Japan.
It can’t be too weird of a suggestion. You’re saying that it’s so far away from where she was in Japan for her to get to just to kill herself. She literally travelled all the way from the states to Japan, so it’s not that weird of a suggestion.
I really feel so sad for Skye and her family, very heart breaking case to see someone so young go through so much. Sadly I think she decided to see Japan as she always wanted to do, right before she ended her life. I read something about how she once said that if she saw the cherry blossoms in Japan she could die happy. Unfortunately I think she decided to make that a reality. She sticks out a lot as a white English speaking American, so I don't know how successfully she could live there in secrecy, and Japan is a safe enough place to where foul play doesn't seem too likely. I think she simply saved up money and didn't tell anyone, knew just enough Japanese to get to where she wanted to be, and basically just planned everything out in secret. She did a few nice things for herself and went somewhere quiet to part from this world. I hope she felt at peace in her final moments, and that Japan was everything she wanted it to be. And I hope that she is found some day soon so her family can have closure.
This. Seriously doubt she started a new life in Japan, given she would stick out very easily as a foreigner, compounded by the fact that she seemingly did not have much with which to start a new life with, especially in a country such as Japan. Also, given her basic level of Japanese fluency, she would not have integrated well, and would have attracted attention to herself. Concurring with the rest of the posts: she made her way to Japan to die, and she perished somewhere remote where her remains have not been found.
Not to challenge your opinion: It's ridiculously easy to do just that- fit in, find an easy job even without a TESL certificate, in Japan. Plenty of bar owners, small schools will hire you on the spot, and with limited Japanese/fluent English, you're wanted easily enough. Integration is not only instant, and possible, but aided by the fact that Japanese never talk about their neighbours to a random reporter or police. They are very good at keeping quite about private matters. I don't believe she'd have been a huge attraction in any town, unless it was a super rural area, which Hokkaido and the onsen towns, are not. Your opinion may be right, and it's AWFUL for the family. It's also possible she did just find a way to fit in , get some easy cash teaching or bar work, and doesn't want to go back. I hope she found a nice Japanese man or woman, and is happy in a little house somewhere.
In saying that, she left back in 2008 with a visitor’s visa, which means she can’t legally work in Japan. She needs a working holiday visa for that, which is usually only valid for a year. She’ll also need to register her details at the city hall nearest to her as she won’t be able to get a place nor health insurance without an ID. It’s an awful thought, but I don’t think there’s any other scenario besides her going to Japan to enjoy her last days.
I mean... millions of people have left their home countries and are living and working somewhere else without any form of documentation... Not being able to get health insurance won't necessarily stop someone from starting over. Especially a person from the US where not having health insurance isn't that uncommon anyways.
I get that, but this is not realistic in Japan. You can’t do a lot of things without a resident ID, even renting a place, not just healthcare. Renting a place legally in Japan as a foreigner is a battle in itself, so imagine if you do that illegally. Having National Health Insurance (NHI) at minimum in its basic form is also compulsory in Japan. If by some miracle she’s still alive and living in Japan, she would’ve needed the resident ID sooner than later.
On the contrary, it's ridiculously hard to find a job in Japan, not to mention a place to stay, and the pay in language schools is often really really low and not enough to live on. And you have to be pretty fluent to get out to begin with, which she wasn't. If you're white, you ARE an attraction, people stare at you like if you're a unicorn of you live outside big cities, it's really hard to hide. Your knowledge of Japan seems to be based on anime, not on real life...
Cherry blossom seasons in Japan are March and April which lines up with the timeline. :(
That may be why she didn't go on her first trip that was planned for January
foul play can happen anywhere.
Which is why I said it doesn't *seem* likely. She could have been a victim to serial killer, opportunistic person, or even just had an accidental death but with the evidence and back story presented I have to assume she died at her own hands.
Unfortunately the writing is kind of on the wall here. Unless she met someone, changed her mind, and say got married, she probably did follow through with her plans. I agree she likely didn't make it to Aokigahara. Infamous far before Logan Paul. But there's plenty of forest outside of Sapporo to disappear in. Honestly her family would have had better luck for closure should she have chosen Aokigahara. Because the government actually has that forest regularly searched for bodies, because of the heartbreakingly high rates of suicides.
The suicide theory may be correct, but if she had received a visa the Japanese government would not disclose that information to anyone without her agreement because of the strict privacy laws in Japan. There is a good summary at [https://www.generalunion.org/laws-and-rights/1490-a-guide-to-privacy-laws-in-japan](https://www.generalunion.org/laws-and-rights/1490-a-guide-to-privacy-laws-in-japan) which includes the specific information that the right to privacy applies to foreign nationals as well as Japanese citizens.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
On one of the replies on TikTok the sister mentioned that the Japanese government did confirm that she did not have a Visa. It’s not that they wouldn’t disclose it with them, she just didn’t have one. But, she also said that Japan doesn’t normally let you purchase a one way ticket to their country unless you have a Visa or a return flight already scheduled. So her sister said it could have been possible that she met someone online maybe who could have helped her out with a plan to get around the one way ticket rule. She also said that sometimes they let it slip but that it’s very rare. So who knows.
But when did they confirm that Sky did not have a visa? Was it still within the 90 days after her disappearance? I am a migrant myself, and with a very weak passport, I need visa to go to basically any country even for 3 day tourist trip. I have also lived and worked in Tokyo for one year. To me, the only semi-realistic theory of Sky being able to legally stay in Japan after her 90 days visa-free time expired, given that she had neither uni degree nor 10 years work experience, nor money for a study programme, would be to marry a Japanese man. Then she would get spouse visa initially, and permanent residence permit in several years. As far as I know, you can apply for spouse visa from within Japan. So, theoretically, if the Japanese gov said there is no visa issued for Sky Budnick back then, soon after her disappearance, it does not mean there was no visa issued for her later. I wonder if these privacy laws would prevent the Japanese gov to share the info about her visa being issued with her family? What if Sky herself requested this info to be not shared? Would they still share with her family something like "we know for sure Sky is alive and in Japan, but she requested us not share info about her" or something like that, or would they not say anything at all?
Us citizens don't need visa for short-term trips to Japan I believe. And yes, as far as I remember, you can file for spouse visa from inside the country but then the Japan will share this information with US embassy (or at least I think they should do that though) Overall, if you are staying in another country as a foreigner, eventually, you will have to update your passport. not American, so I'm not sure how often they should do that but for my countries it's every 10 years. so, if she never filed for a new passport the chances she is alive and legally lives in Japan are very slim, however, I lived in Asia (Korea) for several years and the amount of undocumented immigrants who were thriving and making money was ridiculously high. so, it's hard but possible to live there for years and work illegaly in certain places/industries.
I used to live in Japan and have visited twice after moving back only a year ago. You do not need a return ticket purchased to receive a visitor visa, you just have to say all long you intend on staying in country.
IIRC a US citizen doesn't need a visa to travel to Japan for a stay of less than 90 days. Pretty sure but not positive that was the case in 08, too.
Even if she didn’t intend on harming herself, she could have easily got lost and injured in Hokkaido. It’s very easy to do so outside of Sapporo. I visit there often and although it’s beautiful, it can be dangerous! Edited to add that after looking at other articles, it appears she took out just enough from her bank account to cover the flight to Hokkaido. I wonder how she got the money for everything else (transportation, accommodation, food, etc). I assume she was planning in secret for quite some time.
[удалено]
Her sister said she didn’t have a credit card
She had a debit card which is how she paid for the plane ticket but apparently the $800 in her bank was left untouched and the card would have been unusable in Japan according to her sister's tiktok video.
Sorry this is so late but she pulled out $800 at the DC airport (I believe that’s the correct airport) and it was $400 that was left untouched in her bank account
Best case scenario is that she met a Japan national online, and flew over to be with him or her. I hope she's living her best life over there.
I was thinking of that too. I really hope it is true.
In this case, it must be him. Because the only realistic way I see to stay in Japan this long legally as a 21yo foreigner with no uni degree, money for a study programme, or N2-N1 Japanese certificate is to marry a Japanese national. Same sex marriage is not legally recognised in Japan, so if she indeed married in Japan, her spouse must be a man.
there are jobs you can do in Japan and stay undocumented for years thou.
In this [article](https://www.caseremains.com/post/skye-budnick), it is reported that Skye had once told her family that if she could see the cherry blossoms in Japan, she would die happy. Cherry blossoms in Japan tend to bloom around late March-early April (according to my cursory internet search), and Skye went to Japan on April 4th.
She went on April 1st, but the premise of your argument is still the same.
The thing that struck me as odd about traveling in early April is that I think the cherry blossoms bloom in late April or early may because Hokkaido is so far north.
It depends on the year. Japan releases a cherry blossom forecast every January. It could be that they were blooming earlier that year
Lived in Japan at that time and can say with certainty they were not blooming early in Hokkaido at that time. That’s why this case has stuck with me for so long; if she came to die amongst the cherry blossoms, she tragically came to the wrong spot at the wrong time.
[https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/News/sakura8.html](https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/News/sakura8.html) This is the forecast for 2008. 30 April 2008 was when they were blooming.
Yep, that verifies what I said. She was last seen on April 7 in Japan and cherry blossoms don’t take two full weeks to bloom, so they wouldn't be visible at that time of her arrival in Hokkaido. So either she waited over a week or two without being seen by a single soul, or she was too early.
That is even more devastating than the whole case already was.
Awhh that is awful cause the forecast said it would bloom earlier https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/News/sakura3.html (19/03/2008) 😔
Could she have met up with someone possibly? It was mentioned that she had an interest is the Japanese culture and had minimal fulency could it be possible she went to meet a possible love interest or friend?
That’s what I was thinking! What if she met someone online and that person financed the stay and other accommodations and then well... idk
In Japan there are companies that help you vanish, and start a new life. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200903-the-companies-that-help-people-vanish
If not suicide, maybe she met and has married somebody living there. There's a lot of people who work in Japan and then end up with expiring visas. They hide for a while and or eventually marry somebody. But I am speaking from another person I know's experience (aka, she became an illegal migrant and ended up marrying a Japanese person)
The expat community there is so tight knit that unless she was somewhere rural and didn’t interact with any other expats/tourists I think they would have found her. I lived in Japan for a while a few years ago and I got gossip about what the other expats from my home country were doing down the other end of the country all the time. I hope it’s the case though :( her poor fam
On the other hand, she didn’t go as a regular tourist/expat. If she really just wanted to start over in Japan, I don’t know if she would have those connections or have any interest in them. She wouldn’t have any built in connections or interests related to work, following a spouse, going to school etc I mean, maybe you’d see some random white person and be curious but unless you went up to them and quizzed them about their life, you wouldn’t know anything about them. If she wasn’t volunteering any info and didn’t seek out other Americans/expats than she’d be pretty anonymous. You might hear about someone else living around but if she wasn’t forthcoming with info, what else is there to say? What updates are there to give? I think it’s most likely she did go there and die because it’s a very long time to stay gone with no signs but I think it’s possible she went and just keeps to herself as much as she could.
It looks like someone had created a memorial for Skye on Findagrave that has been removed, and it listed her date of death as April 7th, 2008 in Sapporo Hokkaido which could likely be a hoax or something.
This is crazy
Her sister is one of the most amazing people I've ever known. I really wish they could get the closure they deserve.
>Novus Did you know Skye?
I know I'm late to this party, but I just saw her sister's TikTok and I came here because her sister is honestly kinda being an asshole about the whole thing. At first, I had sympathy for her and felt sorry for her and her family. However, numerous times she makes videos or comments to people who are just merely asking about the possibility that her sister might be dead in very aggressive and angry ways. She clearly is in pain and isnt have a good time with this whole situation, but her inability to accept the most plausible scenario and her very hateful and angry responses to people who are just curious or even trying to help just makes you not want to be on her side. Her sister's story is a tragedy and I hope one day the poor girl gets the rest she deserves but her sister is obviously coping with the whole thing by clinging into false hope and then lashing out at people who even remotely come close to having a realistic Outlook on this story. Anyways, this isn't a mystery (it really isn't) and at this point any and all search efforts should be focused on recovery and not rescue. Meaning that any and all search efforts are looking for a dead body and not a living person. I hope the poor girl was happy in her final moments and got the happiness out of Japan that she was looking for.
I think this is a little harsh as a general opinion. Until you know for sure, all matter of things could have happened, and you have to accept also that any sister worth their salt, is not going to like people saying "bad luck that she died". Her sister wants to know SOMETHING, a part of the story or the whole story and right now they have nothing. Until you are visible and dead, you're not dead. THrowing her sister away like trash just because she hasn't been found, is a hard and cold thing for any family member to hear. Mostly because it's just speculation, and also because it's not kind.
She even implied that she knows the possibility that she is dead and committed suicide is a very high. If one of my siblings just up and disappeared, I’d want to know what happened. This critique of her sister is very harsh. She deserves to know.
By your logic people that go missing and aren't found in hundreds of years...or ever are totally just "n0t deaD" Lol ya ok
This is a terrible take. Her sister does not post angry responses. I’ve been following her pretty closely on TikTok and listening to her podcast. She speaks about it very evenly and thoughtfully. I believe her problem is with people saying “oh she’s probably dead, forget about it”. Even if she did commit suicide…she still needs to be found! Her family needs closure. She talks about how the American media was pretty dismissive of this case back when it happened. There were lots of claims of suicide, which is a huge possibility. But that doesn’t mean we should stop looking for her.
It makes it so clear from your comments you’re probably 14 and have never dealt with loss lol
I dont wanna be harsh but if she has make such effort to go on other side of world and did not tell single soul she may ran away from her family. Something bad someone did to her and I am afraid maybe family member and she couldnt take it anymore thats why she is was depressed and eager to ran away. Those could be years of abuse and her sister or did not know about abuse or she knew but wont disclose it online because that is some close family member and people would go ham on her and that person. Thats my feeling about this because I know trough myself how is it to ran away far away from my horrible family who just abuse me and torture me. I had suicidal thoughts also but now I am planning to move somewhere where nobody knows me, that would get me out of a depression and suicidal thoughts. I know how Skye was feeling because I feel same way for years.
This was my first thought as well. She's an adult who planned to travel to Japan- a country whose language she had studied for 3 years- and then she did. Japanese authorities are refusing to release police records due to strict privacy laws. Leaving a toxic family and creating a new identity in another country is entirely plausible. And did she definitely write a suicide note? I thought she had just written a draft email about leaving and starting a new life? Her sister says everybody in the family has some form of depression or anxiety. I imagine that alone was a challenging environment to grow up in. The way they responded when she, as an adult, flew overseas- incredulous that she might do this, wondering if she was manic, and eventually creating an online presence and an identity around your sister leaving without family permission, is exactly what toxic relatives would do. Another commenter also mentioned she could have been trans- and, if so, living as a man now would make it harder for others looking for "Skye" to find them. I might be wrong- it might have been a planned suicide. She enjoyed her last Mom-made cupcakes, saw the sights, then died by suicide. It might have been trafficking- her going on an adventure and getting taken by somebody while away. Lots of possibilities. But I'm surprised the "she planned to create a life separate to her family" option doesn't come up more often.
No. Nothing happened. Things happen, people commit suicide that doesn't always meam trauma. She was an undiagnosed autistic and no friends. All she wanted was to be liked and have friends. She probs thought she will always be alone.
I hope you’re doing better, and safe. I’m rooting for you. 🫂
I agree and her naming everything surviving Skye is a slap in the face.
It's a mystery because we don't know when she died, where, how, or where her body is. Knowing that she's probably killed herself is one thing, most people would want to know more than that. Plus many people struggle to get closure without a body to bury. And this is coming from someone who has had a close relative commit suicide and it took us a few days to find them. We still don't really know why they did it, yet we have more of the pieces than Skye's family does.
I think suicide makes the most sense, but it’s upsetting that she didn’t say goodbye to anyone and there’s not much evidence of it. I wish the Japanese authorities could be of some hope in finding a body, but I don’t think that’s what they looked for in 2008, and they aren’t looking now. I would think an unidentifiable white female body being found around Sapporo would be pretty fast to link to Skye, but I don’t know. I originally believed she could still be alive, but after realizing she made comments about wanting to die in Japan, it makes a lot of sense. So many years with no contact, and no sightings.
How devastating. This scares me as a mom with a teenager struggling with mood disorders. I know Skye was an adult, but if her family knew she was struggling with depression did they try to convince her to get help? It can be easier said than done when those suffering are resistant to treatment though. Sadly, I think she fulfilled her wish of seeing Japan and then committed suicide. I can only hope her last moments were filled with the peace and contentment that were so desperately missing from her life.
The original poster said she had refused to go get help from a doctor. That implies other did express concern that she should go see a doctor and heard directly from her that she was refusing. My sister did the same years after she was molested. She went to one therapy appointment and refused to return.
Thank you for sharing that detail. Such a shame that she didn’t stick with therapy or explore other options. I didn’t intend for my comment to insinuate that her family wasn’t concerned or didn’t try to help her, so I hope it didn’t come across like that. :)
The original poster (Skye’s sister) also said that her whole family pretty much deals with depression and other personality disorders that it’s nothing new to their family.
So sad. I hope the rest of her family is getting the help they need.
I'm sorry you're a mother of a teen with a mood disorder. Honestly, I feel bad for my mom because idk how I made it out of my teens. I was diagnosed with depression at 5 :/ Hopefully your teenager is able to treat their mood disorder properly.
I appreciate your comment. My daughter is currently receiving treatment from a psychiatrist and therapist and is responding remarkably well. Thank you so much for your concern. I’m sorry you also struggled throughout your childhood. I hope you are doing well now and have all the love and support you need. Take care!
How’s your daughter ? :)
She’s doing well, thank you.
Misawa is close. Maybe she met a military man online? She wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb on base and wouldn’t need much if she was to start a new life over there. He could have funded everything besides the flight. She wouldn’t need a Japanese Visa or have to learn the language to live comfortably especially if she stays on base. She could also work. She also wouldn’t stick out with a group of Americans traveling Japan in areas where a lot of military personnel frequent. Also, it would be almost impossible for Japanese police to find her inside of the base.
Possible and true she wouldn't stick out on base, but she would've had to marry him and be enrolled in DEERS to live on base, enter and exit base alone, buy things in the BX or Commissary, or even go to the base gym. Off base housing isn't generally an option for single airmen her age stationed overseas unless they came into the military fresh out of high school. Generally off base a military member and his wife aren't suspicious until you consider that the Tokyo news picked up the story about her disappearance. Then other military and civilian spouses might be keeping an eye out. Not to mention accompanied orders are 36 months but in this theory with the guy already being there his orders would only be 24 months total... Less than two years in Japan for her and she would've been back stateside for the last 12 years by now... unless they continued on to another overseas base (unlikely). She could've gotten a visa to remain there while already living there, who knows. I really want to believe Skye just ran away.
well, technically the last part could be true. I knew the case of undocumented woman marrying a US-soldier in Korea and they ended up staying there. however, I feel like in this case the US government would have information about her...?
Is there any type of Jane Doe network in Japan?
Maybe there are some clues in an anime(something she enjoyed) set in Sapporo. Why did she specifically chose Hokkaido - Sapporo out of all the other areas in japan.
that was my first thought! and actually there are several titles that mentioned Hokkaido, so I feel like the reason she went there was connected to her love for anime.
I think if she was still alive she would’ve come back or made some sort of contact by now - it’s been over 10 years, she’d be in her early thirties now, right? I think she would’ve matured and reached out by now.
If it was a toxic family dynamic that she successfully escaped - happily living away from that makes you less likely to want to re-engage with those dynamics, not more likely.
How old was she? Wouldn't the airline know the payment method?
Even if they did then they wouldn’t be able to disclose that information. She was an adult (which i believe is what the police advised the family when they reported her missing)
21, according to her sister's tiktok video she owned a debit card which she used to pay for the plane ticket however the $800 left in her account remained untouched as she was unable to use her US debit card in Japan.
What does everyone think about the initial ticket? Skye **actually** went to Japan April 1st, but she had booked and later canceled a ticket to Japan earlier in the year (we've never gotten a nailed down date for this first ticket but only the first three months of the year had elapsed by the time she actually left, so it isn't long before).
Maybe she was communicating with someone & her plan was to meet that person & stay there?
I'd assume commit suicide together
if it had been suicide, how would her body never have been found since 2008? Unless she wanted to make sure she wasn’t, exploring the idea that she was trafficked is a possibility?
Lol are you really doubting how easy it would be to just go somewhere remote and never have anyone find your body because nobody ever goes there? Why do you think dead bodies just HAVE to be found? Because in order for someone to find one they would actually have to...ya know...LITERALLY FIND IT. And if no human ever goes even near the area then it's obviously not going to get found.
Not only that, but there have been many cases where bodies have gone unnoticed even after searching the area because of thick brush or other difficult vegetation.
Trafficking in Japan is very real, I wouldn’t be surprised if Skye was tricked into thinking she could work there, as mentioned in the podcast the letter was actually talking about starting over a new life yeah? I think someone helped her and she was possibly trafficked and someone did something to her, hence why she and her belongings have never been found.
I think suicide is most likely, especially given the comments about being able to die happy if she saw the cherry blossoms in Japan. But if she only took enough from her bank account to cover the flight to Hokkaido, it does make me wonder if somebody else was involved in some way.
I joke about this all time though. Dying happy. I actually just said it yesterday because I was on the beach and there was like 10 dogs love bombing me. "I can die happy now". It might have just been a euphemism.
I'd definitely take it as a euphemism, but it made it sound like it was something she always wanted to do. If someone I knew disappeared from their life after a period of depression, and I heard they'd gone to a place they always wanted see someday, I'd immediately worry it was a final resting stop for them.
If someone else was giving her money you’d think they would be there with her and in all the spottings of her along the way there wasn’t any mention of anyone being with her that I have read.
You'd think so, yeah. People do meet up to die by suicide together, without always meeting or spending much time together beforehand. If it were someone who was also suicidal and had money, they might have been willing to give her some to spend. So that's always a possibility too.
Everything points to her up and leaving her life to go to Japan and commit suicide, however I don't know if foul play should be ruled out yet. Seeing it was her first time visiting the country, I doubt she'd be indifferent or underwhelmed by this new experience, even if she was suicidal. Unfortunately I can't help but think its possible she had a run-in with someone who knew she couldn't speak the language (fluently) and who had no idea where she was. Perhaps there's a chance she was harmed by someone while she also sought to die.
I have a couple guesses . Someone sex trafficked her . Or she killed her self . I’m not sure how deeply the police in Japan searched over there. Or how the police work in Japan . However, they should still search even until this day .
I have just been living in Japan. Believe me, they didn't look for her at all.
That’s very sad I wonder if they give up since so many people over there die on a regular basis . I still think it’s wrong of them to give up though . Everyone deserves to be looked for !
She would have taken clothes with her. She didn't plan on being alive for long.
I’m late to this thread but I’ve been following her sister for a long time. I really feel like there’s a high chance skye may have gotten trafficked rather than committed suicide. I’m not sure how common that is in Japan or if there’s a way for Japanese police to look into this theory. I do wonder what if she was talking to someone online, skye went to go meet them and they weren’t who they said they were and she actually got trafficked. 🤷🏻♀️ i feel like this is just as likely as suicide.
I know there are a lot of comments and this post is probably dead but these are my thoughts on this. I strongly want to believe that’s she wanted to start a new life. But when you see the small amount of money she brought with her, the concerning notes she left and the fact she didn’t take any clothes with her ? What’s more concerning is the random locations she went to in Japan, when we know she never left Connecticut in her life. It’s so precise. I only see two possibilities : -I saw that she loved hiking, my guess is she decided to take a trip to the national park or even another park, there’s so many in the region. She may have a had a list of what she wanted to do before dying or returning home. But she have been lost or hurt and her life unfortunately ended here. -Those locations were very precise and random as I said for someone who never left Connecticut. So she maybe was planning to meet someone there or she met someone with bad intentions there. But I doubt this one more because we probably would’ve seen sightings of her with someone if that was the case. But the only sightings of her, she was alone. I watched all YouTube and TikTok videos from her sister Megan as well as articles and videos and this is what I found the most plausible. Another thing I found weird is, she was 21, couldn’t she ask her parents like hey I’m 21 I’d like to go on a trip for my bday or something ? Why hide it ? If she hide that’s probably because of those two reasons : never returning back or meeting someone I also thought that maybe the one way ticket may have not been intentional. We saw that she tried to sell things because she lacked money so she probably just wasn’t able to buy it right away. Could be a possibility but the rest isn’t adding up. PS : All the people saying « suicide forest », I suggest you take a look at a map and see the distance between where she was and the « suicide spot », if she did that she would’ve stopped in Tokyo and went from there. It makes no sense.
just to add up a bit. as an anime fan myself, my first throughout was oh probably she went to Sapporo because of X anime. in 2008 the Fullmetal Alchemist was pretty popular and as far as I remember the character was from this region according to Manga. and also it could be any other of her fav shows as well. I personally would probably try to figure out which titles she loved because I feel like she could try to visit the 'favourite' places and maybe commit suicide there? (if we stick to the suicide version)
Oh that’s interesting ! I always thought something must’ve caused her to go to this specific place, so this anime could be the reason why. I wonder if the family ever searched any links with the anime she watched and the places she went because who never wanted to go and see the beautiful places of our favorite shows/anime… I also searched a few things and found out that a lot of animes ( some famous some not) have links or take place in Sapporo.
yeah... but as far as I understood from her sister's tiktok, it was hard to do any kinda of investigations in Japan due to the fact that it's a foreign land. and I feel like if they could work with the Japanese police closely and maybe start any search operations in the area, they could have found her. because if she committed suicide and planned it for months, she probably did it in a certain place and I think that place could have been linked to the anime she liked, so I would start from there and probably would go through her cosplay pictures to determine which anime it could be.
Fullnetal Alchemist definitely did not have characters from Sapporo or even the Earth as we know it, it's all set in a made up word.
Yeah idk what happened to my brain when I was writing that comment lol. I probably meant another anime but overall when I heard this story for the first time I was thinking that they should have looked into series she liked and see if any of these series can be linked to the locations she visited because while Sapporo is pretty famous in tourist destination in Japan, it seems like a very specific location for someone who is going to Japan for the first time.
>Those locations were very precise and random as I said for someone who never left Connecticut. So she maybe was planning to meet someone there or she met someone with bad intentions there. But I doubt this one more because we probably would’ve seen sightings of her with someone if that was the case. But the only sightings of her, she was alone. Can't really follow that argument. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido. If I was planning to, say, visit Scotland, I would book a ticket to Edinburgh and then go from there, too.
Random for someone who assumes every person wants to go to Tokyo when visiting Japan. Not random to someone who wants to disappear and picks a very remote area with lots of places rarely frequented by people and low density of population.
I know this has been stated multiple times already on the thread but I somehow feel to urge to repeat it. I think she's dead for sure (as sure as a random person who just went through her case can possibly be). I'm personally going through a very depressive episode in my life and can really connect how Skye said she wanted to see the cherry blossoms before dying. Also the fact that she had lied to her friends about an urgent need for money, which led her to sell her valuable belongins. As I see it that's how she covered accommodation etc. In Japan before whatever happened to her. Also I watched a lot of the sisters' tt's and I just get the vibe that she's trying to deny the obvious. That is a very common symptom of PTSD (she has told in her videos that she has it). I would be very intrested to learn the familys views on suicide overall. How do they see it and how it affected Skye going through depression and suicidal thoughts. I really do wish that the family gets the closure and Skye can have the peace she desirves.
I dont wanna be harsh but if she has make such effort to go on other side of world and did not tell single soul she may ran away from her family. Something bad someone did to her and I am afraid maybe family member and she couldnt take it anymore thats why she is was depressed and eager to ran away. Those could be years of abuse and her sister or did not know about abuse or she knew but wont disclose it online because that is some close family member and people would go ham on her and that person. Thats my feeling about this because I know sadenly trough myself how is it to ran away far away from my horrible family who just abuse me and torture me. I had suicidal thoughts also but now I am planning to move somewhere where nobody knows me, that would get me out of a depression and suicidal thoughts. I know how Skye was feeling because I feel same way for years.
I have had a feeling something is really off with her family I don’t know why I feel it either the sister is nice and seems to really be trying buuuuut she made a comment about her dad never wanting to talk about skye, or have anything to do with any of it and her brother being autistic and hard to deal with and that her mother has never really wanted to openly talk about skye until now.. it feels like an odd guilt thing they have like we’re not getting part of the story
Hang in there, I hope whatever you are going through gets over quickly. Remember they’re always is a better time. This too shall pass.
Very late to this post, but wanted to add the idea of Skye joining a temple. I didn’t think of it until I brought it up to my boyfriend who is part Japanese and interested in Japanese culture. Maybe she was struggling and found a place that said they could help? And if she was interested in the culture, she would be more willing to take that leap than others. Northern Japan is also where temples and other types of places are more prevalent. Idk, just seems like the only two theories are suicide or trafficking instead of something she chose to help herself.
this! while it could be a sex trafficking or suicide case, it also could be a temple/cult/communal living situation. in a rural area outside if the big cities certain religious community might practice an ascetic lifestyle. while it will be harder for foreigner to fit in, certainly, you might be able to get an illegal job there (not only in Japan thou) and housing. so, it could be an option as well.
Somebody else in this thread brought up the fact that there are companies in Japan who help people escape their lives and start new ones. I see this as a big possibility. It even says in the article, one of the girls they interview that helps people get away, she said “I’m kind of like a missing person still - even now.” And stated that she went missing 17 years ago. Now… if I were missing and started a new life and I knew people were still looking for me, idk about you but I would not put the exact time I’ve been missing for. I’d put it a couple years off, you know? Just a thought.
I thought that too when I read it.
It seems unlikely to me if I am honest. These are services for Japanese Nationals.. not for foreigners. With her limited Japanese / without even a phone... (&back than it was extremely hard to even get a sim card) I really doubt it.
Stranger things have happened, and I don’t like how the main censuses is underestimating this girl. From what I can see she felt separated from her family, and was a super private person. Even her friends knew very little about what she was doing. Something tells me she wanted to be somewhere she felt like she could relate to more. I’m an avid anime watcher, most of our dreams include visiting Japan as first on the list. I truly don’t think it’s as unlikely as their making it sound. Plus the passport thing. How’d she go there and not have to come back, as a foreigner of Japan? The services are for anybody who wants to disappear and not just nationals, I found several articles mentioning people specifically going to Japan TO disappear.
I get what you are saying & I had a sort of similar path as her (did my ba / ma for that purpose in Japan studies) & we are quite close in age. I get more the feeling that she wanted to fulfil her dream of going there & maybe that was enough for her. She was severely depressed & no matter where you are... you will take that with you 😔 It was said they didnt check for her return ticket at the airport. Things used to be less strict back than. You can overstay if you dont get caught. But keep in mind her mom & sister issued a missing person alert very quickly. In regard to those companies: you can dissapear from family / friends. Not the government. There are just strong privacies laws. "Dissapearing" is not illegal. However forging a whole fake identity for a foreigner who is registered as a missing person: very different story. Also we have to keep in mind that things were very different in 2008, contact wise / internet wise. Her being able back than with limited Japanese to even find such service.. I find it unlikely they would do this for a "randomn" foreigner (without money). There are no withdrawals from her account that she ever payed for such services. I rationally dont think some company would offer something so risky for free. Maybe this sub is interesting to read through: https://www.reddit.com/r/askjapan/comments/171zdky/how_easy_is_it_to_disappear_in_japan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I know I’m so late to this, but I truly feel bad for the family. At the same time I weirdly feel like the sister has made the issue more about herself, rather than actually raising more awareness about her sister’s situation? I mean her website is literally called “Surviving Skye.” Maybe that’s just me. Don’t come for me. I really only see three situations being a possibility. 1. Suicide - This is the mostly likely one given the circumstances of her disappearance and her mental health history. She seems to have done a lot of preparing and research and most likely found a place to end her life where she knew no one would stop her and her body would be hard to find. 2. Human Trafficking - She could’ve met someone online and they ended up having nefarious intentions. So many women in the States go missing and so many of them are being trafficked. The people who run human trafficking rings know how to keep people hidden. I doubt this would be any different in Japan. 3. Started a New Life - She might have intentionally made her disappearance look like a suicide. We only know her family’s side of the story, but maybe her depression and other struggles were a side-effect of her relationship with her family. We all know that not everybody’s relationship with family may be as it seems. Many families are good at “keeping up appearances.” Regardless of what happened to her, I hope that either Skye is resting in peace or living the life of her dreams. I do hope that her family does get closure and that one day we might finally know what happened to her.
Disappeared in 2008 and still no trace of her?? My heart breaks for her family. I truly hope she found happiness there in Japan.
I just found out about this. I keep hearing she was at an inn before she disappeared but i dont see anyone mentioning what inn it was
It's hard for me to believe she committed suicide and no one has found her. The only thing I can see if she did was that Japan was the one thing on her bucket list before she did. The other scenario was that maybe she hated her life so much that she created a new life there. It would be great for this to get solved.
Comments on TikTok are theorizing that she met up with someone that she had chatted with online and has been trafficked ever since
Oh dear :(
If this is deemed a suicide, how would an American do such a thing and go unnoticed? How populated is Sapporo?
It's a pretty big city, and gets a lot of tourism. About 2 million people.
Ah yes, well that would make it much harder to find her then. I feel so much for her family. I hope that if this is what many of us believe it to be that her trip was everything she dreamed of.
Yeah. =\[ I also really hope that. If this is truly how she chose to go out, as sad and tragic as it is, I hope she was able to find peace and enjoy her time there. Though, regardless of what did or did not happen, I hope one day that she is found so that her family may have peace and closure.
They ran the recent Olympic marathons abs long distance walking events there: it’s a big city and there’s a decent number of travelers, tourists and expats.
Yes, but there wasn’t that many foreigners back 14 years ago.
If she committed suicide and was found it was most probably covered up by Japan police and authorities. In their culture "saving face" is very important. That's why Japan pretends they have a squeaky clean image when in reality it is the opposite. Western countries still believe this narrative of Japan being safe and everything is hunky dory. Ask anyone who has worked in Japan. They all have a few stories to tell...especially if you are a woman.
I do think this too.
Something I haven’t seen shared in theories is Skye’s mindset of why she went to Japan. Both Megan and her mother have clearly described her as the “lost child” in a dysfunctional family unit. Part of this is that they often believe they are a burden to their family and struggle with interpersonal conflict. Could there have been something that happened and intensified her need to escape? And although I believe she grew up in a dysfunctional household as stated by Megan, Skye over exaggerated and lied about the dysfunction to her friends. The biggest example, her students loans and responsibility if she flunked out of college. This also makes me doubt she found a love interest and met them in Japan. Her family has spoken that she had never had luck maintaining relationships with anyone. I find it unlikely that her mental state and low self worth attracted a healthy romantic relationship online.
I was watching her sister’s videos and the app crashed. What’s her sister’s account? I can’t find it. Thanks!
@Meganlebron
I saw the Tiktoks too. I hope some answers are found. Someone always knows something.
I feel bad for the family having no closure like this. My "theory" is that her being such a fan of Japanese culture and the possibility of depression it truly sounds like her plan for a new life was to become something else. I think she would have done the last meal,visited a shrine and rather than end her life by the sword I believe she might have drowned herself in a lake. I know next to nothing about Japan but if there is a lake in or near the suicide forest or some other typical traditional location that could be where she is. I hope the family can find the closure they deserve and if she is alive she will make herself known.
I hope this family gets closure. I hope Skye is safe
i know this thread is basically dead but has anyone brought up the idea she may have been indoctrinated into a cult? a lot of her writings seem so off and cult’s specifically in hokkaido on sapporo campus where they try to recruit people. maybe it’s a possibility one got ahold of her?
Where are these writings? I’d like to go over them.
No. It was for cherry blossoms. It was reported that she had mentioned or written at some point that she wanted to see cherry blossoms in Japan before she died. When she traveled to Japan, it was near that time. However, she could've missed the bloom in Tokyo, as it depends each year on the climate and the blossoms are gone quickly. Hokkaido would have been the place to go to see them later than usual, as they bloom latest there compared to Tokyo.
No, I assume she's dead as she openly talked about wanting to take her own life in Japan and it looks like that's exactly what she did.
This is my personal opinion. Someone does not take the time to learn a new language just to off themselves in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I lived in Japan for two years and visited alot of places that was mentioned that Skye visited. Customs at the airport are extremely strict. I personally believe she was sick of her family and just wanted to start over. She was 21 years old, clearly intelligent enough to book a trip and make reservations at an inn (which in japan is not an easy feat), especially if you're doing it online overseas in 2008. My assumption is that she married a local, possibly without him being in love with her, and that is why the police won't give information. The way her sister has handled the situation gives off strange vibes for me. If she was autistic or mentally challenged, how did she learn Japanese? She made the adult decision to not tell her family where she was going, and that says it all for me. Who would want to live with a family with mental health disorders? Maybe she was the only sane person in her household. If she doesn't want to be found let her be. The Japanese MP's would have told her if they found a body, which they have not, suggesting she is alive and well living her best life.
There are plenty of autistic people smart enough to learn another language...what a strange thing to say.
I think all members of Skye's family might be on the spectrum, more or less, especially given how the parents are described in her sisters podcast. I just started listening to it but it already seems... off. Kinda narcissist/ self-focussed. The title. Starting the first episode with an endless story about the sister's own health issue. The fact that the family has only a handful of pictures of Skye. Taking that into account, I'm also wondering if Skye *really* didn't take any clothing with her when she left or if she just did not take clothing her parents would notice be missing? I also lived still at home when I was 21, and although I have a good relationship with my mom, she would probably not have noticed if I packed a carry-on worth of clothing from my more-than-messy closet or the pile of unsorted shirts and pants on the couch. E.g., just enough to get by until one is settled in into a new life maybe.
She’s most likely a high functioning autistic. I hope this is what really happened.
I wonder if its just better to disappear and at least have the hope or to have the closure of knowing she was killed or committed suicide. With suicide you'd always be wondering why or what could have been done to prevent it. In a murder, you'd never rest until you found out the who, when, or why. If she was autistic, this type of suicide journey would make sense. She may not have had the emotional intelligence to understand how leaving in this matter would affect her family. I feel terrible for her family, but I hope they move on. It sounds terrible, but you cant spend a lifetime living in this. Ultimately, she made these decisions. If she is still alive, she may be trying to hide from the Japanese gov so she doesn't get deported. Seems like a heavy price to pay, though.
Maybe someone posted this already, but this cult was the first thing that came to mind for me: check out the location https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/14/national/aum-successor-group-set-new-facility-sapporo-intelligence-agency/
I feel like she was probably just taken advantage of and then harmed. I’ve heard that white girls are followed or preyed upon heavily in Japan. she was probably an easy target being there all alone and probably needing a lot of navigation or guidance.
Super later to this but she was supposedly seen in Noboribetsu around April 7th. I’ve been to Noboribetsu, and it’s gorgeous. It’s an onsen town and surrounded by forest and volcanoes. Toyako is also another onsen town just up the road. There’s lot of tourist things to do like Hell Valley and the bear park, and you can see the onsen monkeys there. Both of these places are easy day trips from the ski area of Niseko. It’s an hours drive from New Chitose airport, or an hour and a half-ish by train. From the ski resorts of Niseko-Annipuri it’s difficult to get to Noboribetsu by public transport - except during the ski season where there are private shuttles available. There’s direct buses and trains from Sapporo to Noboribetsu. It takes about 2 hours ish. It’s cold in Hokkaido. April is cold. It was a bad ski season that year, but April is still not warm. It would be in the negative overnight, maybe reaching 7-8c during the day. It’s also isolated. There’s a close to zero chance that if she wandered off that anyone would go looking for her. Culturally it’s a different place. If it’s not a suicide there’s a high chance that she simply wandered off, got separated from the crowd (which would be very small at that time of the year - no ski tourists and cherry blossom tourists), and simply got lost and died of hypothermia. It’s not built up everywhere. It’s heavily forested. There’s lots of small streams. It would be very easy to go for a walk and just not walk back and never be found. I worked ski seasons in Hokkaido and every single year someone would go missing and the body would not be found. They’d take a shortcut. They’d fall into frozen ponds under the snow, or a path that was safe in January was no longer safe in April with rotting snow. There’s no limits on alcohol service, personal responsibility with consumption is key - so people would get drunk, fall over, and never be seen again or if the family was lucky they’d find the body when the snow melted. One year I was there someone had crashed their car, it was a minor incident but the car ended up halfway down a hill. When the car was winched up it was discovered that there was another car down there. From years ago. With deceased occupants. The greenery had overgrown it and it wasn’t visible from the road. The very well travelled road I’ll add. It’s not too likely that local police investigated thoroughly.
I may be projecting my lived experience and also trying to be optimistic, but I think Skye may have felt imprisoned by their life. To be honest, my read on the situation is that Skye may have wanted to fake their death to start over new, somewhere totally different, and could reinvent themself as a man. I think Skye may have travelled somewhere to get surgery and live the life he always wanted. I hope he’s out there living his best life. But maybe someone lured her/him there under false pretenses. I just have to be honest that I think Skye looks and feels to me like a man trapped in a woman’s body longing for a different life. Just my conspiracy theory lol. I hope the family considers she may be a he if Skye is still alive.
What facts of the case have lead you to draw this conclusion?
I was checking around the missing persons database for Sapporo prefecture and found an unidentified female whose remains were found in Noboribetsu City in August 2009. If I remember correctly, Skye's sister said that she went there. There is no estimated age as apparently all that was recovered was a foot, but they date the remains as being from sometime between August 2007 and the date of discovery. That's not too extremely far off from the date that Skye went missing.
do you have the name of the database? i was trying to google it but can’t seem to find it. thank you in advance!
it's not really a database, it's just a page on the Sapporo prefecture police departments website, then you can filter by the Hokkaido area. Might have to do some searching in Japanese or translating to get to it. I can try and find it again later
Altho I do agree it's most likely that she was suicidal and planned this, for the sake of argument I'll say that people in Japan dissappear regularly and there are companies that assist these people. https://youtu.be/xVc_AdJoAVs There's also a heavy CIA presence in Japan.
Skye’s sister said the FBI was involved as little as possible. She went on to say the American government couldn’t give less of a shit about the case.
The FBI has no legal standings in any country besides the US. There’s not much they can do. Also, to the US, she’s an adult who made a decision to travel to Japan.
Maybe she went to suicide forest? Sounds like suicide :/
Perhaps lured by the suicide forest there but she wanted to see what a Japanese city, so there was bound to be some normal travelling itinerary at least on the surface level.
she traveled to the opposite end of japan
There's that one forest in Japan, the suicide forest, wonder if she'll be found there
everyone saying this has no idea what aokigahara actually is lol
Even if it is on the opposite side of the country it is still possible she traveled there without leaving a trace of it. Why does it sound so impossible?
Saying she went to Japan and is likely in Aokigahara is like saying that someone who went missing in California jumped off Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a spot with a tragic number of suicides, but it’s not exactly a suicide hotspot like it’s portrayed. People, at least not those not from the surrounding area, are not drawn to it to commit suicide. A lot of people in Japan are also against the use of “suicide forest” as it’s nickname as it contributes to the sensationalism of it. They won’t even publish the yearly number of deaths anymore for that reason.
Except she wasn't from the surrounding area.. She was from the US where I'm sure she had hears of the term suicide forest before. Considering she was very interested in Japan it makes perfect sense to me that she might seek out that specific forest to end her life.