http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/389123
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at 08:35 EST
SAN DIEGO — Authorities said Tuesday that a body found hanging from a tree in La Jolla on Sept 15 was that of Go Masuda, a 29-year-old Japanese photographer who was reported missing on Sept 3.
A spokesperson for the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said fingerprints were used to identify the body which was found in a wooded area. Authorities contacted the Japanese Consulate in Los Angeles and learned that a missing persons report had been filed about Masuda.
The photographer, who arrived in Los Angeles on Sept 1, was last heard from on the night of Sept 3 when he used a freeway call box to report that he had run out of gas on northbound Interstate 405 at Montana Street near Brentwood, according to the LAPD's Missing Persons Unit. A patrol officer found the car with photo equipment inside, but Masuda was not with the car and there was no sign of violence, police said.