"...... missing from the box! "
I said the same thing to another gentleman on this board when he said he is missing "remote controller" from the box. Then I said, it is not missing from Panasonic, but it is a returned product by someone who screwed up.
A company like Panasonic missing a part in any of their product package is slim to none. It is all Computer controlled assembly line. Each and every product is scanned step by step and if one part is missing, the package doesn't move forward in the conveyor belt. So a tired worker doesn't make any mistake in packing.
So the probability of missing a part in the box is zero, unless he purposely take it out after scanning that part or an Earth Quake hit at that moment.
So, what you got is a product that someone returned to them.
Also, you read on this board lots of people are returning products when they don't like it for simple reasons. What do you think where it goes? Simply sell it to another Maria or John.