Skye Budnick was 21 and a junior at Central Connecticut State University when she left home in spring 2008 and vanished after traveling to Japan. Studying international business with a minor in Japanese, she loved Japanese culture and was described as introverted, shy, and struggling with depression. On March 31, 2008 she visited her family in Southington, Connecticut, and said she would stay at a friend’s dorm; that was the last time they saw her.

Her brother later found she had bought a one-way ticket and departed Bradley International Airport on April 1, leaving her car in airport parking. She arrived in Tokyo April 2 and flew to Sapporo, traveling as a tourist for about a week. Her last confirmed sighting was April 7, 2008, when she checked out of an inn in Noboribetsu and said she planned to return to Sapporo; after that her trail ends. Family members traveled to Japan, filed missing person reports, and continued to cooperate with Southington police, Interpol, and Japanese authorities. The family returned to Japan in spring 2024 to provide updated DNA samples.

Anyone who knew Skye, saw her in Japan in April 2008, or has information that could help investigators is asked to come forward.