Island of Japan under the spell of elusive thief

The Japanese island of Mukaishima is under the spell of an escaped prisoner.

The 27-year-old man escaped from a facility for model prisoners earlier this month. The police found a car that was stolen by him later on Mukaishima. The authorities sent out eight thousand agents to man checkpoints and patrol. The government also wants to send some 96 guards to the island to secure schools.

The criminal does not seem to be put off by the army of agents looking for him. The police received several reports about the theft of cash from homes and vehicles. Detectives found the fingerprints of the man in two cases. His DNA would also have been discovered on a discarded pack of milk.

It frustrates inhabitants of the small island that the authorities fail to pick up the man. One problem is that at least a thousand empty houses are located at Mukaishima. The police can not just invade it without permission from the owner.