The Embassy is deeply concerned about the disappearance of Nepali citizen Mamta Kafle from Manassas, Virginia since July 31, 2024. As soon as Ms. Kafle’s family members informed the Embassy about the case, it contacted the relevant US authorities.
— Embassy of Nepal, Washington, DC (@nepalembassyusa) 15 August 2024
The second group, made up of her colleagues and friends, was organized by her former roommate, Nadia Navarro. The groups have formed self-organized search parties to search local parks and wooded areas. Over several nights, groups of about 100 volunteers combed Blooms Crossing Park for hours in hopes of finding her. Although the search yielded few clues, it had the greater effect of drawing attention to the discovery of Kafle. The media was present during the search on Thursday evening, and a helicopter hovered over the search area for several hours while the search was conducted.
Both groups are frustrated by the lack of early police intervention, saying they are slow to decide when and where to search. “Why don’t police organize these searches? I’m here to help, but there should be a central command post to make sure we search these areas efficiently and not go where others have already searched or, worse, skip areas that haven’t been searched yet. Police have the expertise and should be here giving volunteers direction on where to look,” said Anne Tornatore Lese, a search volunteer who didn’t know Kafle but felt compelled to search for her. Police say the initial assessment didn’t meet Virginia State Police’s criteria for more than one missing person report, resulting in Kafle being added only to the statewide missing persons list. Still, family and friends wanted more, saying Kafle would never voluntarily give up her 10-month-old daughter or the job she loved as an operating room nurse. “She is a very happy and positive person,” said Sunit Basnet Thapa, Bhatt’s mentor when she worked at Inova Fairfax Hospital. “She doesn’t have a car, driver’s license or passport. She took Uber to work every day. She wouldn’t have gotten far on her own,” said Sadichhya Dhungana, an outspoken member of the Nepali community who participated in Thursday’s search. After Bhatt reported her missing to Manassas Park police on Aug. 5, detectives began investigating Kafle’s disappearance. They found that there had been no recent contact between Mamta and her family, friends and employer. In addition, there was no social media activity, which raised concerns. Based on these findings and other circumstances, police upgraded Mamta’s status to involuntary/critical missing person on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Bhatt, who has faced increasing public criticism for his failure to report the disappearance earlier, has given interviews to the media and has been seen at the MPPD offices several times. “Finding Mamta at any cost is my first and only priority,” Bhatt told reporters. He said this was not the first time she had disappeared and admitted they do not sleep in the same room. He told Nepali-language news site enepalise.com the couple had “strained relations” but was determined to work on it, saying the couple’s relationship had improved since May. Kafle’s family, who live in Nepal, supports a claim the news site wrote. Kafle was last seen on July 27 at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center. She spoke to a friend on July 28 and was last seen by her husband on July 31. These were the last known contacts before her disappearance. Kafle emigrated to the United States in 2021 and completed a course to become a nurse. “She initially got a job as a nurse at INOVA Hospital before transferring to Prince William’s UVA Hospital. Kafle is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Her blood relation is in Nepal, but we are out here looking for her because we are her family now and we will find her,” said Jennifer Cooper, who did not know Kafle but helped organize the search on Thursday. The Nepali embassy posted on its X-account that it was “deeply concerned” about her disappearance and said it had contacted the appropriate U.S. authorities. Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo did not respond when asked about the three-day delay in publicly announcing the disappearance after the investigation began and why they did not investigate after Kafle’s colleagues said she did not show up for work. Police are asking anyone with information on Kafle’s whereabouts to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Manassas Park Police at 703-361-1136. Anonymous tips can also be sent to Crime Solvers at 703-330-0330 or online at Manassas–Manassas Park Crime Solvers.
