NEED TO KNOW
- A former women’s wrestling referee died in a bear attack
- The body of Katsumi Sasazaki, 60, was found on the bank of a river on Friday, Oct. 17, after he was reported missing the previous day
- Sasazaki had been cleaning an outdoor bath area when the attack occurred
A former women’s wrestling referee died in a tragic bear attack.
Rescue workers found the mutilated body of Katsumi Sasazaki, 60, in a wooded area in Kitakami, a city in northeastern Japan, on Friday, Oct. 17, per Japanese national news outlet Asahî Shimbum.
Sasazaki, who was a recently retired referee for the Japanese women’s wrestling league Dream Star Fighting Marigold, was working at his job at a local hot spring inn when the attack occurred, per the outlet.
Sasazaki’s manager noticed he was missing the morning of Thursday, Oct 16, and called the local Kitakami Police around 11:15 a.m. local time that day, according to Asahî Shimbum. Police found blood and what appeared to be bear fur in the outdoor area where Sasazaki had been cleaning, per both Asahî Shimbum and NHK World Japan.
Police, along with a local hunting association and city officials, initiated a search for the man, but were forced to suspend it after only half an hour due to inclement weather. They ultimately found Sasazaki’s body the following morning at approximately 9 a.m. on the bank of a nearby river about 164 feet from the inn, per Asahî Shimbum.
Authorities shot and killed an adult male Asiatic black bear near where the body was found, according to the outlet.
Asiatic black bear (stock image).
DEA / C.DANI / I.JESKE/De Agostini via Getty
PEOPLE reached out to Japan’s National Police Agency for comment on Saturday, Oct. 18, but did not receive an immediate response.
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Rossy Ogawa, owner of Dream Star Fighting Marigold wrestling league, paid tribute to Sasazaki in a post on X, noting that Sasazaki was a father to “two young daughters.”
“Tragic news has come in that the body of Katsumi Sasazaki, who was attacked by a bear and went missing at a hot spring facility in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, has been found,” Ogawa began his post.
“Sasazaki’s final referee appearance was in the Marigold ring. A junior from All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, he was reserved but dedicated to his work, and he leaves behind two young daughters,” he continued. “Such an end is unthinkable, and all I can say is that it’s deeply regrettable and heartbreaking.”
“I pray for his soul to rest in peace,” Ogawa said at the end of his statement.
