Kyoto police have confirmed the body of 11-year-old Yuki Adachi was found in a forested area of Nantan City on April 17, 2026, triggering a homicide investigation after his father was arrested on charges of abandoning a corpse.
According to investigators, Yuki was last seen alive on the morning of March 23, 2026. He did not attend school that day, and school officials contacted his mother around 11:50 a.m. After noticing his absence. His father, Yuki Adachi, 37, told authorities he had dropped the boy off near the school building around 8:00 a.m., claiming Yuki exited the vehicle about 200 meters from the campus and then disappeared.
However, police say surveillance footage and witness accounts contradict that account. Investigators confirmed Yuki Adachi’s vehicle was seen near the school that morning, but no camera captured the boy walking toward the campus afterward.
During voluntary questioning prior to his arrest, the suspect allegedly told detectives he had strangled his son to death. He also stated he had driven the boy to a different location after briefly stopping at the school, where the killing occurred. He later admitted responsibility for the act but said he did not understand the exact cause of death, pending autopsy results.
Police seized multiple items from the family’s residence during searches conducted on April 15 and 16, including clothing and personal effects. The father’s vehicle was also impounded for forensic analysis, with investigators focusing on dashcam footage from the days surrounding the boy’s disappearance.
Authorities reported that portions of the vehicle’s dashcam recording—particularly from the time immediately before Yuki went missing—are missing. Investigators believe the father may have disabled the recording system or deleted the data, though no definitive conclusion has been reached.
The case has drawn significant attention due to the father’s initial cooperation with search efforts, during which he publicly pleaded for information about his son’s whereabouts. Investigators continue to analyze digital evidence and witness statements as they work to determine the full sequence of events leading to the boy’s death.
