"Estimated to Have Died at Dawn the Day After Disappearance… Low Possibility of Crime"

[Anchor]

Police have announced that Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in Jeju, is believed to have died in the early hours of the day following her disappearance. Police determined that the possibility of Jang being murdered by someone else is low.

[Reporter]

This is the last captured footage of Jang Mi-ran before her disappearance on the night of May 12.

After leaving the long-term lodging where she was staying at around 10:15 p.m., Jang's mobile phone base station signal was last detected near Hallim Port.

During their first briefing to the press on August 26, police stated that there was no change in the location of the mobile phone base station signal until her phone was turned off, and no additional phone calls were confirmed to have been made.

Jang was ultimately found dead 104 days after her disappearance at a palm tree farm in Hallim-eup, Jeju. Police believe the most likely time of her death was in the early hours of May 13, the day after she went missing.

They added that considering various circumstances discovered at the scene, the possibility of her being involved in a crime appears to be low.

Police explained that Jang's belongings, such as her ring and headband, remained intact, and no signs of a struggle or resistance were found in the surrounding piled-up palm tree leaves.

Police also noted that a string presumed to belong to Jang was found during the crime scene investigation, and that the forensic doctor gave a verbal opinion that Jang appeared to have taken her own life by hanging.

No suicide note left by Jang was found.

[Jung Tae-woon / Head of Investigation Division, Jeju Provincial Police Agency: "To uncover the circumstances and motive of the crime, we have requested and deployed profilers, and we are closely analyzing various aspects, including forensic data..."]

It was determined that Jang had no prior acquaintance with Police Officer Bu, who was arrested the day before yesterday, nor was there any record of phone calls between them.

Officer Bu reportedly maintains his previous claim that "he contacted the missing person," denying the charge of falsely closing the case.

(Video reporting: Lee Sang-hak, JIBS / Ko Seung-han | Video editing: Yeojin | Design: Cho Soo-in)

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