Two bodies were found Tuesday on a mountain in Niigata Prefecture where a father and his 6-year-old son went missing earlier this month, police said.
Police believe the bodies are those of Koya Shibuya, 37, and his son Sora, who went hiking in the Gozu mountain range near the city of Agano on May 5.
The police and rescuers had been searching for the two since May 7.
Shibuya called his father on the afternoon of May 5 saying they were lost, and he called again the next morning, telling him they were descending.
Police initially believed the two were going to hike up two mountains, both about 500 meters high, but they extended the search area after finding a note at the foot of Mount Matsudaira indicating the pair were heading to the top of the 954-meter mountain, which is unfit for novice climbers.
