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The husband of a missing Virginia woman told police he last saw her at the dinner table three weeks ago.
Now, he’s been charged with concealing a dead body.
Missing mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, is presumed dead, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo confirmed on Thursday, after police revised their original timeline saying her husband, Naresh Bhatt, was the last person to see her alive on July 31, according to Fox5.
Police now believe she was last seen four days earlier, on July 27 at the UCA Health Prince William Medical Center, with her last communication being on July 28 when she spoke with a friend.
The investigation began on August 2 after police received a call from Kafle’s coworker, requesting a welfare check as she didn’t turn up for her shift at work, reported WJLA.
After executing a search warrant on the family residence on Wednesday, detectives arrested Bhatt in connection with his wife’s disappearance.
The couple have one child, a daughter named Neema who was placed in the care of the Department of Social Services.
In yesterday’s press release, the City of Manassas Park Police Department said, “The child is safe and being cared for.”
The release also says police are still investigating the disappearance of Kafle and are “hoping to locate her.”
Bhatt was held without bond pending an arraignment this morning.
In another release, the police claimed to have “obtained and executed in excess of 10 search warrants and hundreds of hours of interviews related to this case.”
Nadia Navarro, a woman claiming to be another friend of Kafle, has opened a Facebook and GoFundMe page to “advocate for” the missing mother and raise money to fund search efforts. So far, more than $14,000 has been raised out of 341 donations.
In the most recent Facebook post, Navarro said she is “one of two people who are candidates to take care of Neema,” explaining that she has a spare room for the child and “would be honored to have her.”
“We’re making sure she won’t go to strangers or to a facility,” she added. “We love her and she will stay with us!”
