Ana Walshe, 39, of Cohasset, Massachusetts was reported missing on Wednesday, January 4, two days after she was last seen leaving her home in the coastal community on January 1, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said in a press conference.
Police are asking for the public's help locating the mom of three who went missing in the early hours of New Year's Day. Quigley shared that a family member saw Walshe around 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning on January 1 with her bags when she was trying to catch a flight to Washington, D.C., for a work-related trip. The police chief added that she was supposed to use a rideshare service to get to the airport. During this time, her husband was allegedly asleep.
The chief said that they haven't been able to confirm that she was picked up by the rideshare service, but that they do know she never boarded any flight from Logan Airport. She had booked a flight for January 3 but "it's been reported that she was called to D.C. to handle some type of emergency."
She is known to have been busy with work and it's "not abnormal for her to work long hours and not contact the home right away." At present, it is registered as a missing person case and the police are trying to locate her. They haven't received any signal or call from her. "It's not normal that she's missing, so we automatically feel that she's in danger by the mere fact that she's missing," Quigley told reporters, noting that at this point there's "nothing to support anything suspicious or criminal."
He added: "The focus right now is on trying to locate her. All it takes is a phone call to let us know that she is okay."
Police said Walshe regularly commutes between her home in Cohasset and D.C., where she works as an executive for a property management company, identified by reporters as Tishman Speyer. "We are actively assisting the local authorities in their ongoing search for our beloved colleague, Ana, and are praying for her safe return," the company shared with PEOPLE.
In 2021, her husband, Brian R. Walshe, pled guilty to selling fake Andy Warhol paintings in 2018 and is awaiting the sentence. However police believe it does not have any connection to Walshe's disappearance. Her husband and Abdulla Almutairi, a friend of Walshe's, have given the police all the information they had and co-operated well while showing concern for her safety. "Ana loves her kids," Almutairi said, adding that "the fact that she didn't check in" with her family raised red flags. "It's not within her pattern or characteristic to disappear," he said.
Police in Washington, D.C., conducted a welfare check at Walshe's townhouse, but did not find anything, Quigley said. It is unclear why it took two days for her to be reported missing. Quigley said that "it may be a case where she just needed a break, and if that's the case, we just need a call from her or someone who has talked to her. Life is challenging sometimes. She has three small kids, the oldest being 6 [and] the youngest being 2. The holidays, working out of state — sometimes life gets chaotic."
Detectives are looking "everywhere" and "at everything" to find the missing woman, according to Quigley. Police are searching for leads in digital evidence, but so far, local ring cameras and other devices "have turned up nothing." Walshe, who has no known history of mental illness, is being sought by police as soon as possible. "We're asking the public to keep an eye out and hope for the best," said Quigley.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact Cohasset detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 extension 6108, or at [email protected]
References:
https://people.com/human-interest/massachusetts-mom-of-3-missing-since-new-years-day-last-seen-home/
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/police-to-give-update-on-search-for-missing-cohasset-woman/2937757/
Cover Image Source: Youtube | ABC 7 Chicago
