Tokyo teen escapes captor after 2 years

  • 29/03/2016
Police search the apartment of the alleged kidnapper (BBC)
Police search the apartment of the alleged kidnapper (BBC)

A teenage girl in Japan has escaped a Tokyo apartment where she was held prisoner for two years, the BBC has reported.

A 23-year-old man, Kabu Terauchi, has been arrested for allegedly abducting and keeping the 15-year-old prisoner.

The girl escaped on Sunday when her kidnapper left the apartment and left the door unlocked, reports say.

She then called the police, who found Terauchi about 100 kilometres away in the Shizuoka region.

He allegedly abducted the girl In March 2014 by pretending to be a lawyer working on her parents' divorce.

She had been locked in Teruachi's apartment for most of the two years and had been closely watched by him when she went outside, police told Japanese news service NHK.

The girl has now been placed in protective custody and police are searching Terauchi's apartment.

She appeared physically unharmed, local reports say.

Police say Teruachi kidnapped her near her Asaka home in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. He reportedly persuaded her into his car after inventing a story that her parents were splitting up.

Her mother found a note in her post box later that day, apparently written by her daughter and asking her parents not to look for her, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported.

Police found Terauchi in Shizuoka Prefecture early on Monday after a receiving a call that a man had been seen walking around covered in blood.

He is being treated in hospital, and there are reports he tried to kill himself. His injuries are said to be serious but not life-threatening.

Newshub.