Four weeks after his wife vanished, a man was taken into custody on suspicion of hiding a dead body, Virginia authorities announced on Thursday. Naresh Bhatt was detained on a felony charge of concealing a dead corpse, as Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Luge announced in a statement.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, his 28-year-old wife, has been the focus of a thorough missing persons investigation since she was last seen on July 27 while working as a pediatric nurse. This week marks Kafle’s young daughter’s first birthday, and the Department of Social Services is now in charge of her.
Authorities have only stated that Naresh Bhatt might have hidden a body; they have not confirmed that a body has been discovered. It was verified by the police that the arrest was made “in connection with her disappearance.”
“The Manassas Park Police Department is still investigating the disappearance of Mamta Kafle Bhatt and hoping to locate her,” according to the statement. “There are additional investigative leads being actively pursued and may result in additional charges being brought.”
Mamta Kafle Bhatt vanished, and the Manassas Park Police Department is still looking into her disappearance and trying to find her,” the statement read. More leads are being aggressively investigated, and this could lead to the filing of more charges.
Naresh Bhatt is not being detained under bond and is scheduled to appear on Friday morning in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Naresh Bhatt had earlier told police that he last saw his wife on July 31. When she didn’t show up for work on August 2, her coworkers called the police. Although Narash Bhatt was interviewed on their visit to the family home, his wife wasn’t listed as missing.
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She wasn’t officially reported missing until August 8th, and according to the police, her phone and credit cards haven’t been used since.
On Thursday, a candlelit vigil was held outside the Kafles’ residence by friends and family, many of whom were from Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s native Nepal. Kafle’s coworkers and the surrounding community have coordinated several searches for her.
A GoFundMe page established to collect funds to aid in the search has nearly $14,000 in contributions.
