Current:Home > FinanceA Florida woman is missing in Spain after bizarre occurrences. Her loved ones want answers -ProfitSphere Academy
A Florida woman is missing in Spain after bizarre occurrences. Her loved ones want answers
SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-11 06:22:42
The search is underway for a Florida woman who went missing in Spain shortly after a man with his face covered spray-painted the security cameras at her building, according to media reports.
Ana Maria Knezevic, 40, was last seen on Feb. 2 in Madrid, Spain, according to the National Center for the Disappeared in Spain. Loved ones said the businesswoman had traveled to Madrid amidst a difficult divorce to get away, according to a police report obtained by USA TODAY.
The blacked-out security cameras coupled with some out-of-character texts from Knezevic led her loved ones to push for answers.
“The fact that the building has the cameras spray-painted … It just makes us think it’s foul play. It’s not normal,” Knezevic's brother Felipe Henao first told NewsNation in a Tuesday interview.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department told USA TODAY that the Department of the State is handling the investigation. The State Department said it is aware of reports of a U.S. citizen missing in Madrid, Spain and will follow protocol by working with local authorities in their search efforts.
More:Missing hiker found dead on California's Mount Baldy after citizen's drone tips off authorities
'She wouldn’t do that:' Texts show she ran away with a man off the street
Knezevic's friend Sanna Rameau told the Associated Press she received a text Feb. 3 from Knezevic that didn't sound like her at all.
"I met someone wonderful!! He has a summer house about 2h from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. Signal is spotty. I'll call you when I get back," the first text reads, according to screenshots obtained by the AP.
"Yesterday after therapy I needed a walk and he approached me on the street! Amazing connection. Like I never had before," a followup text states.
Another friend received similar texts in Spanish, but believed it had been run through Google translate, according to the police report.
“She wouldn’t do this ... it is very unsafe and crazy behavior. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that,” Rameau told the AP. “It just didn’t make sense.”
Knezevic's phone was unreachable started Feb. 3, and she failed to show up at a planned meeting in Barcelona on Feb. 5., her family told police.
Knezevic going through 'nasty' divorce, husband's location unknown
Henao told police that Knezevic and her husband David Knezevic are 'going through a nasty divorce and there is a substantial amount of money on the line to be split up between the two and David is not happy about it," the incident report states.
The two have been married for 13 years and own computer support company EOX Technology Solutions Inc., together, the AP reported.
Henao told police David Knezevic traveled to Serbia in January, but he didn't know for how long. Henao also told police he reached out to David Knezevic about his sister and he responded that he knew his wife is missing.
David Knezevic's location was not known according to Fort Lauderdale police and he did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's emailed request to his company for an interview.
Man wearing motorcycle helmet disabled security cameras
Ana Knezevic had traveled to Madrid to "clear her head" and visit a long time friend three months prior to her disappearance, Henao told police.
According to the AP, she had been staying in an apartment in Madrid's upscale Salamanca quarter, and had several trips with friends planned before and after her disappearance.
On Feb. 2, the evening before friends received those strange texts, a man wearing a motorcycle helmet spray-painted the lens of the building's security cameras, the AP reported. She was in touch with friends and neighbors around that time, AP stated.
Rameau told the AP that emergency officials responding to her home for a wellness check did not find anything unusual.
“I’m just desperate to find answers,” Rameau told the AP. “I’m just desperate to find a reason for who could have done this.”
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- ‘Reskinning’ Gives World’s Old Urban Buildings Energy-Saving Facelifts
- Seattle's schools are suing tech giants for harming young people's mental health
- 2016: Canada’s Oil Sands Downturn Hints at Ominous Future
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Clean Energy Investment ‘Bank’ Has Bipartisan Support, But No Money
- The FDA considers a major shift in the nation's COVID vaccine strategy
- U.S. Military Report Warns Climate Change Threatens Key Bases
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Ariana Grande’s Rare Tribute to Husband Dalton Gomez Is Just Like Magic
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- The Bachelor's Colton Underwood Marries Jordan C. Brown in California Wedding
- Check Out the 16-Mile Final TJ Lavin Has Created for The Challenge: World Championship Finalists
- After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death and his career in a new way
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Nick Cannon Confesses He Mixed Up Mother’s Day Cards for His 12 Kids’ Moms
- Some Muslim Americans Turn To Faith For Guidance On Abortion
- Fraud Plagues Major Solar Subsidy Program in China, Investigation Suggests
Recommendation
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
Elizabeth Holmes, once worth $4.5 billion, says she can't afford to pay victims $250 a month
Amazon Web Services outage leads to some sites going dark
Elizabeth Holmes, once worth $4.5 billion, says she can't afford to pay victims $250 a month
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Some Muslim Americans Turn To Faith For Guidance On Abortion
A police dog has died in a hot patrol car for the second time in a week
China Wins Approval for Giant Dam Project in World Heritage Site