A Chicago woman who went missing earlier this month while traveling in Japan has been found safe, according to her family.
Kandace Schipper, 29, had traveled to Japan alone in May and had been updating friends and family about the trip everyday. However, she became “unreachable” around June 5, according to a Facebook post by her sister, Nicole Willea.
Schipper’s last known location was the Shibuya City area of Tokyo, where she used a credit card at a restaurant, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
A missing person report was filed with the Chicago Police Department and the U.S. Embassy in Japan.
Martha Vanderlugt, a family friend, told Fox 32 that the State Department said it couldn’t take any steps until Schipper missed her scheduled flight on June 29.
The family turned to social media for help tracking her down and released a statement on Wednesday night about finding her safe.
“We’re relieved to share that we’ve obtained our beloved daughter, sister and cousin Kandace Schipper’s location,” the family said in a statement shared on Facebook. “Thank you to everyone who helped us spread the word. We’re grateful for every email, call, and share and are now focused on bringing her home safely.”
“From Chicago to Tokyo, we were met with so much support and eagerness to help us find our loved one and have empathy for anyone seeking missing family members,” the statement continued. “It’s a complicated process trying to find information and it wouldn’t have been possible for us without the generosity of so many.”
No other details about Schipper’s disappearance and discovery or current condition have been made available.