12-year-old foreign tourist missing in Japan, police asking for help finding her [Video]

U.K. middle schooler seen on security camera footage after leaving family’s rental property alone. Carmelita Lakdesha Paul, a 12-year-old middle school student from the U.K., arrived in Japan for sigh

U.K. middle schooler seen on security camera footage after leaving family’s rental property alone.

Carmelita Lakdesha Paul, a 12-year-old middle school student from the U.K., arrived in Japan for sightseeing with her parents and older brother on July 21. She has now been reported missing, and the police are asking for help in finding her.

The Paul family is currently staying at a private rental property in Tokyo’s Kamata neighborhood. The last time the family saw Carmelita was on the night of August 12, when her father spoke with her before going to bed. When the rest of the family woke up at around 8:30 on August 13, she was gone.

▼ Video showing a photo of Carmelita released by the police as part of the call for help locating her

Carmelita did not take a phone with her when she left, so the family had no way of contacting her. The family contacted the police shortly before 9:30. In examining surveillance camera recordings the police found images of Carmelita, dressed in a sky-blue sleeveless top, black-and-white checked skirt and black pumps, and carrying a pink handbag, walking in the Nichome section of Kamata, near the family’s rental property. Investigators were able to determine that she passed through Yokohama Station, roughly 20 minutes south by train from Kamata Station, later that same morning, but have been unable to trace her path any farther than that.

Carmelita did not take her passport with her when she left the rental property, and her family estimates she had only a few thousand yen (less than US$100) on her, which would not be enough for an extended stay in reputable lodgings. The Tokyo/Yokohama area has also been experiencing severe rain showers , making proper shelter even more important than it would usually be.

The police describe Carmelita as being roughly 160 centimeters (5 feet, 3 inches) in height, with a medium build and curly black hair. Anyone with information as to her whereabouts is asked to contact the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Kamata Station at the phone number 03-3731-0110, but information can also be submitted at any police box or station.