By HIDEKI ITO/ Staff Writer
November 6, 2024 at 13:59 JST
WAKAYAMA—Wakayama prefectural police announced on Nov. 5 that a body found off the coast of the Kada district in Wakayama has been identified as missing 21-year-old German student Claudio Worm.
The cause of death remains unknown after a forensic autopsy due to decomposition.
The prefectural police are investigating both the possibility of a criminal case and an accident.
According to prefectural police, a man called the Wakayama Coast Guard Office and reported, “Someone is drifting face up off the coast of Isonoura,” at around 2:50 p.m. on Nov. 1.
The Coast Guard office conducted a forensic autopsy on Nov. 2 and concluded the estimated date of death was early October.
Worm arrived in Japan on Sept. 21 for sightseeing and arrived in Wakayama Prefecture on Sept. 30.
On Oct. 16, his father contacted the Wakayama prefectural police through his friend who lives in Japan, saying “My son has not returned yet, despite school starting soon."
Prefectural police released a photo of Worm and asked for information from the public on Oct. 21.
Worm’s suitcase was found in a coin locker at JR Wakayama Station on Oct. 30.
Police confirmed that he came to the station alone on Oct. 10 based on footage from security cameras around the station.
His passport was found in a bathroom located at a riverbed near Wakayamashi Station. His phone was discovered on a bridge over the Kinokawa river.
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Claudio Worm (Provided by Wakayama prefectural police)
