The Guatemalan Public Ministry provided an update on the investigation after family members complained that witnesses left the country without giving statements.
A California woman who disappeared while on a yoga retreat in Guatemala vanished when she went swimming while out kayaking with another participant, according to the Guatemalan Public Ministry.
The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that Nancy Ng and a group of tourists had kayaked out onto Lake Atitlán a few days into the trip, which for Ng began on October 14, CBS News reported. She and another person broke off from the larger group and paddled for about a mile on the lake.
While out away from the larger group, Ng “decided to jump into the lake to swim, at which point she disappeared,” the ministry said. The person Ng was with turned back to the larger group after she disappeared and then later reported the disappearance to staff at the hotel where the group was staying. The staff searched for Ng and then reported the disappearance to local authorities on October 19.
The rest of the retreat group checked out of the hotel the next day to return to their homes, the ministry said.
The ministry said it began its own investigation after local authorities notified them of Ng’s disappearance. It said they have conducted visual inspections of the area where she vanished as well as a search of the hotel room where she was staying. Dive teams and a helicopter have been at work on the lake, but the ministry said weather conditions have complicated the search efforts.
The prosecutor’s office is working with authorities outside Guatemala to collect statements from witnesses who returned home, the ministry said.
Ng’s family said previously that potential witnesses had not provided statements about her disappearance, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Guatemala’s navy searched for her for 72 hours and stopped, prompting the family to hire private search teams, coordinated with assistance from Guatemala’s National Tourism Assistance Program.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to help fund the efforts. The last update, on October 30, said that the FBI and US Department of State were also involved in the investigation.
Family members also noted that weather on the lake had hindered search efforts.
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[Featured image: Nancy Ng/GoFundMe]
