ISTANBUL -- A New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul was found dead on Saturday and police detained nine people for questioning in connection with her case, Turkey's state-run news agency said.
Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due to board her flight back home. Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where such disappearance of foreign tourists are rare and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her.
The Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra's.
The agency did not say what caused her death. The private NTV television reported that she was stabbed to death, while a private news agency, Dogan, said she had a wound to the head, suggesting she may have been hit by an object.
Police reached by The Associated Press refused to comment on the case.
Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. She had originally planned to make the trip with a friend, but ended up travelling alone when her friend canceled.
She was in regular contact with friend and family and was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was due back in New York. She told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.
The location where the body was found, is a few kilometers away the bridge. It is near a major road that runs alongside the sea of Marmara and offers an iconic view to visitors of dozens of tankers and other vessels waiting to access the Bosporus strait. Police stopped traffic on the road as forensic police inspected the area.
Anadolu suggested Sierra may have been killed at another location and that her body may have been brought to the site to be hidden amid the city walls.t least nine people were detained for questioning in Istanbul over the arrests and a police official on the site told journalists two of them were women. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the case.
It was not clear if a Turkish man Sierra had exchanged messages with during her stay in Istanbul was among the group that was detained. That man was detained for questioning on Friday but was later released. Turkish news reports had said Sierra had made arrangements to meet the man on Galata Bridge but the man reportedly told police the meeting never took place.
Sierra's husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, travelled to Istanbul to help in the search. Sierra's mother, Betzaida Jimenez, said she couldn't talk when reached in New York.
Shortly after she was reported missing, Turkey set up a special police unit which scanned through hours of security camera footage in downtown Istanbul in search of clues over her disappearance. A Turkish missing persons association had joined the search, handing out flyers with photos of Sierra and urging anyone with information to call police.
While break-ins and petty thievery is common in Istanbul, the vast and crowded city is considered relatively safe in comparison to other major urban centers. The American's death was unlikely to have a significant impact on tourism, an increasingly large component of the Turkish economy.
In 2008, an Italian artist Pippa Bacca, was raped and killed while hitchhiking to Israel wearing a wedding dress to plead for peace. Her naked body was found in a forest in northwest Turkey. A Turkish man was sentenced to life in prison for the attack.
Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due to board her flight back home. Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where such disappearance of foreign tourists are rare and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her.
The Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra's.
The agency did not say what caused her death. The private NTV television reported that she was stabbed to death, while a private news agency, Dogan, said she had a wound to the head, suggesting she may have been hit by an object.
Police reached by The Associated Press refused to comment on the case.
Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. She had originally planned to make the trip with a friend, but ended up travelling alone when her friend canceled.
She was in regular contact with friend and family and was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was due back in New York. She told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.
The location where the body was found, is a few kilometers away the bridge. It is near a major road that runs alongside the sea of Marmara and offers an iconic view to visitors of dozens of tankers and other vessels waiting to access the Bosporus strait. Police stopped traffic on the road as forensic police inspected the area.
Anadolu suggested Sierra may have been killed at another location and that her body may have been brought to the site to be hidden amid the city walls.t least nine people were detained for questioning in Istanbul over the arrests and a police official on the site told journalists two of them were women. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the case.
It was not clear if a Turkish man Sierra had exchanged messages with during her stay in Istanbul was among the group that was detained. That man was detained for questioning on Friday but was later released. Turkish news reports had said Sierra had made arrangements to meet the man on Galata Bridge but the man reportedly told police the meeting never took place.
Sierra's husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, travelled to Istanbul to help in the search. Sierra's mother, Betzaida Jimenez, said she couldn't talk when reached in New York.
Shortly after she was reported missing, Turkey set up a special police unit which scanned through hours of security camera footage in downtown Istanbul in search of clues over her disappearance. A Turkish missing persons association had joined the search, handing out flyers with photos of Sierra and urging anyone with information to call police.
While break-ins and petty thievery is common in Istanbul, the vast and crowded city is considered relatively safe in comparison to other major urban centers. The American's death was unlikely to have a significant impact on tourism, an increasingly large component of the Turkish economy.
In 2008, an Italian artist Pippa Bacca, was raped and killed while hitchhiking to Israel wearing a wedding dress to plead for peace. Her naked body was found in a forest in northwest Turkey. A Turkish man was sentenced to life in prison for the attack.
Texting a turkish man to meet you on a bridge and sarai never makes it there?
ReplyDeleteThen today her body is dumped by the bridge?
I have to say how sad, my heart goes out to the family.
ReplyDeleteI post story after story for sarai and now this ?
I don't like this Video ( I hear someone laughing in the background) ? Unprofessional!
ReplyDeleteI cannot comprehend how she had the guts to travel by herself to such dangerous countries without her hubby. Why didn't he go with her in the first place and used the pre-paid ticket the friend who changed her mind had purchased. Had her friend have gone, she too would've been dead. Danger is everywhere, we shouldn't travel alone, period. This was such a senseless trip to began with. How in the world could she not have known the dangers "WOMEN" face in those countries to begin with? What answers are there for the children left behind? Sad, truly heartbreaking:(
ReplyDeleteMissionaries have been killed in these countries for preaching the gospel. But then Jesus warned ...the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. Jn 16:2 Such missionaries are martyrs. Turkey is known as the # 1 country in the world for spilling the blood of martyrs.
I am not sure whats going on, first the bombing at the Embassy and then they return a ( Dead american female ) and place her under a bridge ?
ReplyDeleteIf Turkey is trying to ( Incite ) a major incident, there messing with the wrong country !
In our country (The United States ) we respect life and will not tolerate such barbaric behavior. We don't go around beating up on 80 year old Armenian women.
Turkey is an Islamic country in which they practice the Sharia Law(controlling even personal matters in one's life), whosoever does not practices their believes face death at one point or another. Therefore whether male or female there is no mercy for anyone breaking their law. These people are used to seeing blood running down their streets.
ReplyDeleteSome Turkish want out of this horrible religion and are hungry for a peaceful God of true holiness and true righteousness.
As per the Sierra & the Jimenez Families, I pray the Lord gives them the strength to over come this horrible nightmare.
There are many questions,no robbery ,no sexual assault,no man coming foward to say it was a fling ?
ReplyDeleteThey say her room was in a poor part of town and she was spending 1000 dollars a day ? ( Hearsay)
NO MOTIVE ?
Might have been solely because she was an American. There was not theft because she had her jewelry on, and no signs of rape...as per the news all over the internet.
ReplyDeleteFrom my understanding she was a Christian...which is a delicate thing. Once we know the Lord..our walk should not be as we will, but HIS will. This was a trip 5000 miles away from home; the fact that her friend canceled shows God was not in it, neither His protection over her.
I'm afraid she walked completely out of the WILL of God when she took this trip ALONE. Satan moved quickly and she suffered the consequence.