Police Launch Massive Search for Missing Woman Months After Botched Initial Probe

[Anchor]

We previously reported that following the disappearance of a woman named Jang Mi-ran in Jeju in May, the assigned detective claimed to have made contact with her and promptly closed the case. Amid mounting criticism, the police have belatedly launched a re-investigation.

JIBS reporter Jeong Yong-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

There was a significant gap in the search and investigation for Jang Mi-ran, who has been missing for over three months.

After the assigned detective closed the case on May 15, there were no searches or checks on her daily life activities for a staggering two months, up until a second missing person report was filed.

Because security CCTV cameras typically store footage for only about 30 days, tracking her movements has run into limitations, and investigations into private CCTV cameras installed by local business owners have also hit obstacles.

[Merchant near Hallim Port: The police looked at the CCTV footage, but I am not sure what they actually saw. They looked once or twice, maybe three times. Since there was no one visible, they probably could not find anything.]

On the second day of the public search for Jang, a massive police force assembled.

The number of search personnel increased fivefold, with around 140 people deployed for intensive searches.

Jang's final movements point to two primary locations.

Searches are centered around the place where Jang left her accommodation on the night of May 12, and Hallim Port, where her mobile phone base station signal was last detected on the morning of May 16, four days later.

Scent-tracking dogs trained to follow human scent have even been deployed to desolate streams.

The police are vastly expanding their search, focusing on the accommodation where the missing person stayed and the locations where her final whereabouts were confirmed.

The fallout is growing as police investigations reveal flaws in the handling of the case, including the fact that no call logs with the assigned detective were found on Jang's mobile phone.

Her family is desperately waiting for even the smallest clue that might shed light on Jang's whereabouts.

(Video by: Kang Myung-cheol / JIBS)

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