True Crime Society – American missing in Japan – where is Skye Budnick?

American girl Skye Budnick was 21 in 2008 when she packed just a few issues right into a bag.  Unbeknownst to her household, she had bought a a method airplane ticket to Japan.  She arrived within the nation on April 1, 2008 and was final seen there on April 8. She has by no means been seen once more.

As some background, her mom Susan mentioned “Skye was a really quiet lady, very quiet, very shy.” 

Skye had two siblings – Matt and Megan. 

“We have been collectively however separate,” mentioned Skye’s sister, Megan mentioned. “We have been off doing our personal issues however have been all the time there for each other.”

Megan has spoken about how Matt and Skye had rather a lot in frequent.

“That they had comparable pursuits like video video games and issues like that,” she mentioned. “I bear in mind one time they’d a sure recreation that they performed with sure individuals from all around the world, in order that they wished to go to New York to satisfy these individuals and so they didn’t know tips on how to go so I chaperoned them basically. One other time I introduced Skye to see this rock band she cherished referred to as Dir En Gray  performing in New York with considered one of her pals.”

Skye was finding out Japanese at Central Connecticut State College.  She cherished studying about Japanese tradition and had all the time dreamed of touring there.  Experiences say that she was additionally working at a grocery store.  

Megan has mentioned that in 2008, Skye was displaying signs of scientific melancholy.  Skye was mentioned to be sleeping rather a lot and failing her courses.  Skye refused to see a health care provider for remedy.   She allegedly instructed some pals that the one purpose she hadn’t dropped out of faculty was in order that she may keep within the anime membership.  

That is an excerpt from a social media publish made by Skye.

“I hate me”, one publish learn, “I hate how straightforward it’s to get my hopes up, and the way it’s even simpler to ship them crashing down into the abyss. Is it unusual? One second I might be fantastic, and even extraordinarily glad; after which some little unhealthy factor occurs and all pleasure shatters and I wish to die, or rip myself to shreds.”

Skye had missed some earlier alternatives to journey overseas to check resulting from her failing grades.   

This  timeline of the times previous to Skye’s disappearance has been pieced collectively from podcasts/social media dialogue.

Skye visited her household on March 31, 2008 and instructed them that she was going to stick with a pal the subsequent day.

It’s believed that Skye then drove her automotive (2005 Chevy Aveo) to the airport and he or she left the automobile there.  She withdrew $800 from her checking account.   

She flew out of Bradley Worldwide Airport in Windsor Locks, CT to Hokkaido in Japan on April 1.  She flew United Airways.  

When Skye bought her airplane ticket, she didn’t inform anybody, even her closest pals.  Her household had no concept.

When they didn’t hear from Skye by April 4, they grew to become involved and reported her lacking.  The household managed to get entry to Skye’s e-mail account that day and found the airplane ticket buy on her account.  

Megan spoke about what Skye packed for the journey.

“She solely took her laptop and Nintendo DS each of which have web capabilities, and her debit card; she didn’t take the rest.”

Skye would have needed to have taken a passport to fly to Japan.  Some studies say that she additionally took just a few modifications of garments.  Skye didn’t personal a cellular phone.

There’s an internet discussion board publish from 2008 the place Skye’s household beg for details about her:

https://supertalk.superfuture.com/subject/49271-my-girlfrinds-sister-is-missing-please-read-this-is-not-a-joke

She by no means instructed any pals or household about this journey, however she has been very depressed, and has all the time mentioned that she wished to go away to go to Japan and simply kill herself there.

Thats what we predict she goes to do, or has achieved already.

A lacking particular person report has been filed, her college has been contacted, her pals have been notified, and calls have been non cease simply looking for her.

I’m posting this, trigger I dont assume the phrase can get on the market quick sufficient, Her Itinerary mentioned she was going to Japan, stops in Tokyo after which there may be one other flight afterwards that goes to Sapparro.

She is suicidal and he or she wants assist.

Susan has spoken about discovering out that Skye had left the nation.

“It’s sort of like as a mother you must know,” she mentioned whereas sobbing. “However I simply don’t perceive leaving like that. Simply leaving your automotive on the airport and every little thing behind.”

Skye’s household have mentioned that they have no idea how she paid for the costly airplane ticket.  Feedback on reddit do say that Skye had been promoting her belongings previous to leaving.  She additionally had the reported job on the grocery store.  

The final sighting of her was at an inn in Noboribetsu, a city within the southern a part of Hokkaido.

“Skye was extraordinarily shy to the purpose of social anxiousness so for her to do that she needed to have assist, somebody who was encouraging her to go over,” mentioned her mom Susan. “We don’t have proof, however we actually imagine that’s what her motivation was. And that was the scary half.”

We’ve spoken earlier than about how way more troublesome issues are when somebody vanishes abroad – Patty Wu Murad additionally vanished in Japan, Nancy Ng, Taylor Casey.

After Skye had not been heard from for a number of weeks in 2008, Susan and Megan flew to Japan.  They deliberate to file police studies, do interviews and go out translated “lacking particular person” fliers.

“The language barrier alone is sufficient to shut you down,” Susan mentioned.

Susan and Megan found that Skye had instructed staff on the inn the place she was final seen that she deliberate to journey to Sapporo in Japan. She made stops at spas and onsens (sizzling springs) in the course of the week earlier than she vanished.  

Skye’s household appeared by her e-mail account for extra clues as to her whereabouts.  They found what could possibly be interpreted as a suicide word within the drafts of her e-mail.  It was addressed to a pal, Brittney Davis, but it surely was by no means despatched.  

In keeping with the Case Stays podcast, Brittany instructed police that she and Skye had argued only one week earlier than she vanished, when Skye got here as much as her and mentioned “her Japanese sucked”

The identical podcast additionally wrote the next on their web page for Skye:

She had even made the troubling remark that if she may solely see the cherry blossoms in Japan, she would be capable of die glad.

The seek for Skye has been ongoing since 2008.  She has an entry on the Doe Community and Megan has appeared on a number of podcasts to speak about her sister.  She additionally has her personal podcast referred to as ‘Surviving Skye.’

Megan spoke to the media in 2024 about roadblocks they’ve confronted within the search.

“A couple of 12 months or so in the past I spotted that the (familial) DNA that we submitted again in 2008 was by no means submitted to Interpol or Japan,” she mentioned. “It was nonetheless sitting within the Connecticut State Lab and nothing was achieved. And I feel a part of that was as a result of language barrier. However the Southington police, with the assistance of Interpol, was in a position to get into contact with the Japanese authorities and so they have been knowledgeable {that a} new DNA pattern was wanted resulting from new applied sciences getting used.”

Megan additionally spoke in regards to the prices concerned with looking for a cherished one abroad.  The household had a GFM at one level that raised over $16k and that’s what Megan discusses on this quote:

“The final time we went we have been met with the realities of what a lacking particular person is like and there’s actually a scarcity of sources, so we have been two weeks into our journey and the invoice was getting larger and greater,” Megan defined. “So, at this level we don’t wish to be put in that place once more and I’ve been lucky to have lots of people on social media be actually supportive and at lots of people’s requests I set it up.”

Megan and Susan traveled to Japan in 2024 and offered this replace:

The time has come. We’ve a date to go to Japan to submit a brand new familial DNA pattern.

This has been fairly the logistical enterprise involving the Southington police, Interpol, and the Japanese Nationwide Police to get so far.

My mom and I’ll take this journey to Japan in hopes to get solutions as to what occurred to Skye. However we’re nonetheless very a lot at nighttime as to what could also be in retailer for us. We’re as ready as one could possibly be in any such state of affairs however the reality is we’re scared, anxious, overwhelmed, exhausted, and above all prepared for something.

Susan has spoken about how the household has dealt with Skye’s disappearance.

“It’s sort of like how we deal with every little thing individually however collectively,” Susan mentioned. “My husband received indignant. He doesn’t discuss it ever. He doesn’t wish to hear about it. I used to be crushed, however I haven’t hit the indignant half but. My factor was all the time blame; what did I miss? I missed rather a lot. My son really made a remark and mentioned, ‘I wish to discuss it mother, however you cry so I don’t.’”

Megan moved throughout the nation to attempt to escape the ache and has all the time tried to maintain Skye’s story within the highlight by social media.

“I all the time used work and maintaining busy as a method to keep away from feeling something,” she mentioned. “After I stopped working for a time frame my husband advised I begin a TikTok to cope with my emotions. At first, I used to be like ‘Eww.’ What held me again for thus lengthy was I didn’t have the suitable medium to speak about it and I assumed my vulnerabilities could be a hindrance. However over time I feel it has been an asset in simply making an attempt to narrate to different individuals. And I’ve gotten a extremely good response and, not that lots of people can relate to having a lacking particular person, however they relate to so most of the different issues that I’ve been speaking about and that’s been actually useful.

“It’s grow to be like a group and I really feel like I’ve gotten higher in simply the previous two years than like the opposite years,” she mentioned.

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

There have been some alleged sightings of Skye.