>http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090920a9.html

>Body found on Mount Arafune may be missing cartoonist Usui

>MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) A body thought to be that of missing
>cartoonist Yoshito Usui, the creator of "Crayon Shinchan," was found on
>a mountain straddling Gunma and Nagano prefectures Saturday morning,
>police said.

>The body, which was found by a climber at the base of a steep cliff on
>Mount Arafune, will be recovered Sunday to determine if it is that of
>the 51-year-old cartoonist, who went missing Sept. 11, the police said.

>Usui told his family he was going hiking on Mount Arafune that morning
>and would return to his home in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, by
>evening, the police said. His family reported him missing the next day.

>The Saitama, Gunma and Nagano prefectural police forces have been
>conducting a joint search for him ever since.

>Usui started drawing "Crayon Shinchan," the story of feisty
>kindergartner Shinnosuke Nohara and his family in Kasukabe, in a comic
>book published by Futabasha Publishers Ltd. in 1990. The popular cartoon
>series was adapted for both television and film.

>The city of Kasukabe issued a special residence card to the Nohara
>family to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the municipality, and has
>also been using Shinchan as a mascot for its child-rearing campaign
>since April.