Missing Woman's Family Heartbroken by False Police Report; Detective Involved Found to Have Misconducted

[Anchor]

Back in May, 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran went missing in Jeju. Her family has publicly released her photos in a desperate search for her. However, it has been revealed that the police officer who received the missing person report three months ago closed the case after filing a false report claiming they had "made contact" with Jang.

JIBS reporter Jung Yong-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

A woman wearing a hooded zip-up jacket and long pants leaves her accommodation.

This is the last known sighting of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in May.

Since then, she has been out of contact for over three months, with no traces of daily life such as financial transactions found.

Her family has stepped forward to search for her, even disclosing her face.

[Family member of missing Jang Mi-ran: After tracking her location, the police told us, 'The missing person does not want to talk,' and 'she asked not to be looked for.' That's when the reporting stopped.]

However, allegations have been raised that a detective from the missing persons investigation team at the Jeju Seobu Police Station filed a false report in May claiming to have "made contact" with Jang.

This is because a police investigation has confirmed that there are no call records between the detective in charge and Jang to date.

Jang, who lost contact after May 13, was reported missing two days later, but the police closed the case just three hours later.

There was no sign of her activity for the following two months, and allegations of a false closure surfaced after second and third reports were filed in mid-July.

Police launched a public search around Hallim Port, where Jang's last movements were confirmed.

Thirty police officers were deployed, and missing person alert text messages were sent out.

The investigation is being expanded without ruling out the possibility of a criminal offense.

[Boyfriend of missing Jang Mi-ran: I am so angry, and earlier my hands were shaking so much I couldn't do anything. I keep roaming around Hallim Port, checking the shoreline just in case her shoes might have washed ashore if she fell into the sea.]

It was confirmed that the detective handling the case at the time is an officer who was recently suspended from duty after being caught entering a women's restroom at a police station.

The police have booked the detective on charges of dereliction of duty and are investigating the entire process of how the missing persons case was handled.

(Video by: Kang Myung-chul / JIBS)

JIBS Jung Yong-gi
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.