A Virginia man who desperately pleaded for the safe return of his missing wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, was escorted from his home in handcuffs on Thursday three weeks after the pediatric nurse was last seen.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether Naresh Bhatt was arrested in connection with his wife’s disappearance, nor have they revealed any charges brought against him.
It comes a day after Bhatt was declared a person of interest in the case. Officers on Wednesday also executed a search warrant at the residence he shared with Kafle Bhatt, one of ten warrants they have carried out amid their investigation, Chief Mario Lugo told reporters.
He added that investigators have also conducted hundreds of interview amid their search for 28-year-old Kafle Bhatt, a mother of two who worked at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center.
Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 31, in Manassas Park, about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C. Her colleagues grew concerned when she failed to show up for work the next day and requested officers check in on her at home.
When police arrived at the residence, Bhatt initially declined to report her missing. He ended up doing so days later, however, on August 5.
In wake of her disappearance, Bhatt pleaded for his wife to return to him and their baby, who is set to turn 1 this month. He said they ate dinner together the last night she was seen.
“She did not come back and I just searched around,” he told WUSA9. “The next day, police came and police told me she was not at work and I was very serious because she’s the one who would never leave her work.”
Lugo said an investigation into the matter is ongoing, telling reporters that finding Kafle Bhatt remains a “top priority.”
