American civilian arrested in connection with missing Uruma woman

The Okinawa Prefectural Police arrested a civilian working for the U.S. military, Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, in connection with the missing 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro on Thursday. They also say that they have found a body of a young female, presumably that of the missing woman pending an identification.

Police have initially questioned Shinzato Kenneth Franklin on a voluntary basis, according to informed sources. He is reportedly an ex-Marine living in Yonabaru. He has denied involvement in the disappearance of the woman, the sources said.

According previous reports, Shimabukuro, a temporary company worker, left her boyfriend’s residence around 20:00 on Apr. 28th for a walk, and has not been heard of since.

When she left, she had her iPhone 6 cell phone attached to a black keychain and her car key with her. The boyfriend sent her a message through a Line application around 02:00 informing her that he would be back soon, and he checked the message had been read, but he has not been able to make any other contact after that.

As Shimabukuro did not come home, her boyfriend reported her missing to police the next day, and she has not been heard of since. Uruma Police released a photo and other information of the woman on May 12, appealing to the public for information.

02:14 29 Mar , 2024