Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Former Batavia Man Missing in the Mountains of Japan
Search-and-rescue teams looking for Michael Blodgett, ABC 7 News reports.
Mike Blodgett, a former Batavia man who has family ties to Batavia and Montgomery, has gone missing in the mountains of Japan, according to reports from his family.
Blodgett, 35, went camping near Dorogawa in March 23 with plans to hike into the mountains to visit the Omine Temple before spending a night on the top of the mountain on March 24, according to an e-mail from his wife, Ikuchan Blodgett.
The family is unclear if he ended up staying in the mountains. He was expected in the Yoshino area on March 25 before returning home on March 26.
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"He did this course before,"Ikuchan Blodgett wrote in the e-mail. "When he did it, he did all the hiking in a day."
Blodgett, an English teacher in Osaka, was expected back to teach between 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on May 26 but did not return, according to his wife. Ikuchan Blodgett said she contacted police and a search of the mountain area began on March 27.
On Friday, search-and-rescue teams planned to search the area near the camp site and hiking courses in the area, according to Ikuchan Blodgett.
Blodgett has lived in Osaka for the past five years. Him and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter, Olivia, and are expecting another child in May, according to a friend of the family, Natalie Worthington.
Blodgett graduated from Batavia High School. His parents, Diane and Art, are long-time Batavia residents, and his sister, Anne, lives in Motgomery.
In Worthington's e-mail to Patch, she encouraged this news to be shared on social media sites to spread the word and "put pressure on Japan to keep searching for Blodgett."
Blodgett, an English teacher in Osaka, was expected back to teach between 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on May 26 but did not return, according to his wife. Ikuchan Blodgett said she contacted police and a search of the mountain area began on March 27.
On Friday, search-and-rescue teams planned to search the area near the camp site and hiking courses in the area, according to Ikuchan Blodgett.
Blodgett has lived in Osaka for the past five years. Him and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter, Olivia, and are expecting another child in May, according to a friend of the family, Natalie Worthington.
Blodgett graduated from Batavia High School. His parents, Diane and Art, are long-time Batavia residents, and his sister, Anne, lives in Motgomery.
In Worthington's e-mail to Patch, she encouraged this news to be shared on social media sites to spread the word and "put pressure on Japan to keep searching for Blodgett."
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