The family of a missing woman are asking for help after she vanished while on a yoga retreat, claiming 'key witnesses' are refusing to provide 'vital' information.
Nancy Ng, from California, went missing on 19 October while on a week-long yoga retreat in Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, having last been seen kayaking with others.
The 29-year-old, who works at a local school district helping students with disabilities, had been on the same trip the year before with her sister Nicky.
Speaking to KTLA, Nicky said: “The last two weeks have been a living hell because when we first got the news that she was missing, we just had so many questions.
Advert
“What happened? Where is she now? Is there a chance she’s alive? We didn’t know anything.”
According to a GoFundMe set up by Nicky’s partner Jared Lopez, an ‘extensive search’ of the lake where she was last seen has now been carried out, with the help of Black Wolf Helicopters, the Bomberos Voluntarios Air Rescue Section, the Bomberos Dive Team and ‘amazing local volunteers’.
“However, our search efforts have been hampered by insufficient information regarding the exact circumstances and location of Nancy’s disappearance due to the failure of key witnesses (many of whom have returned to the United States in the past week) to step forward and provide a witness report,” Jared explained.
Advert
“Due to the lack of this imperative information, the search is now subject to investigation by local Prosecution Authorities, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of State.”
Chris Sharpe, who runs Black Wolf Helicopters, told KTLA that the search team is missing ‘vital’ details.
“We don't know where she went in, where she went missing because there's no corroboration of that,” he said.
Advert
“We've got a rough idea, but it varies from one side of the lake to the other.”
Chris added: “We just don't know because we're lacking that vital information.”
He also told ABC7’s Eyewitness News that he has searched most of the lake without any clues to her disappearance.
Advert
"For me, this is now becoming a criminal investigation because the witnesses who were there at a material time are not being forthcoming,” he explained.
The FBI confirmed to US media that officials are working with the Guatemalan government, which is leading the investigation.
A spokesperson for the US Department of State told People that it was aware of reports of a missing US woman in Lake Atitlán, and that the US Embassy in Guatamala is in contact with local authorities and was ‘closely monitoring their investigation’.
Topics: News
Jess Hardiman