The husband of a Northern Virginia woman who has been missing for more than three weeks was led out of her home in handcuffs on Thursday morning, a video obtained by News4 shows.
Naresh Bhatt was led out in handcuffs with his hands behind his back and taken to a police car. Manassas Park police did not immediately say why he was taken into custody or provide any information about any charges against him.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old nurse from Nepal, was last seen on July 31. She is the subject of a large-scale search operation as colleagues, friends and community members plead for answers and hope she is safe.
By Thursday afternoon she had still not been found.
Prosecutor Amy Ashworth spoke briefly with reporters outside the family’s home on Thursday afternoon.
“Is she alive?” asked News4.
“We don’t know. We don’t know. But we are working on this investigation. We are working diligently, and a lot of things are moving very quickly right now,” Ashworth said. More information is expected later Thursday.
A video obtained by News4 on Thursday morning showed officers carrying a small child out of the house with a blanket over his head.
Police said in an update late Wednesday that Naresh Bhatt was a suspect in connection with his wife’s disappearance. It was initially unclear whether he has a lawyer.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt has been missing for 16 days. The search for the pediatric nurse and her mother is intensifying. Now the police have published a timeline showing when she was last seen. Derrick Ward from News4 reports.
Chronicle: Mother from Manassas Park missing for over 3 weeks
According to a police timeline, Bhatt reported to her job as a pediatric nurse at UVA Prince William Medical Center on July 27. She spoke with a friend on July 28 and was last seen by her husband at home on July 31, police said.
Her co-workers requested a welfare check on August 2 after she failed to show up for work. Officers went to her home and spoke with her husband, who gave them more information at that point and said he did not want to report her missing.
Three days later, he contacted the police and reported her missing.
Her disappearance was not declared involuntary until August 8. The speed with which she disappeared frustrated her friends.
According to Manassas Park police, Bhatt’s credit cards, bank statements and phone have shown no activity since her disappearance.
As Bhatt’s daughter turned one this week, her friends saw an opportunity to reignite interest in her disappearance. Some met with the police chief on Monday and said Bhatt’s disappearance was not her style.
Bhatt’s husband spoke briefly to News4 last week.
“The main message: I need my wife, the mother of my baby, back,” he told News4’s Jackie Bensen.
When Bensen asked Naresh Bhatt if he was worried that someone had done something to his wife, he replied, “Yes, I am worried about many things.”
Police executed a search warrant for the couple’s Manassas Park home Wednesday night. The home was surrounded by a heavy police presence. Forensic investigators were at the family’s cul-de-sac home taking photos of what appeared to be the master bedroom on the second floor.
When asked if Bhatt’s husband was cooperating with police, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo replied, “No, he is not.”
Police have conducted hundreds of interrogations and received hundreds of tips, Lugo said.
The crowd grew heated at the press conference on Wednesday night. Friends of Bhatt and members of the Nepali community were frustrated by what they saw as a lack of information flow. Lugo made his statement and then tried to leave, but returned to the podium as people shouted questions at him. Only then did he respond that Bhatt’s husband was a person of interest.
The husband of a Manassas Park woman who has been missing for three weeks has now been named as a suspect, News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
With our newsletter The 4Front we make it easier for you to find important stories. Register here and receive the news that is important to you directly in your inbox.
Bhatt is 5’10” tall and weighs about 130 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone who may have relevant information is asked to contact Manassas Park Police.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
