Editor's note: Mamta Kafle Bhatt's husband was taken out of their home in handcuffs on Thursday morning, News4 video shows. Go here for updates.
As the search for a missing Northern Virginia mother intensifies, police say her husband is a person of interest in her disappearance and is not cooperating with authorities.
Although authorities are still actively investigating the whereabouts of 28-year-old Mamta Kafle Bhatt, her husband is — and has been — a person of interest in her disappearance, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said during a news conference Wednesday night. She was last seen on July 31.
Police executed a search warrant at the couple's Manassas Park home Wednesday evening. A heavy police presence was seen surrounding the home. Forensic investigators were inside the family's home on a cul-de-sac, taking pictures in what appears to be the primary bedroom on the second floor.
About 9:30 p.m., Lugo said the search would likely take another three to four hours to complete. Police will make another statement when they get that report, he said.
This was the 10th search warrant of the investigation. Police have conducted hundreds of interviews and received hundreds of leads, Lugo said.
Bhatt has been missing for three weeks. Her baby girl turned 1 year old on Tuesday without her mother present.
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When asked if Bhatt's husband is cooperating with police, Lugo responded, "No, he is not."
A large crowd at Wednesday night's news conference grew heated. Friends of Mamta Kafle Bhatt and members of the Nepalese community grew frustrated with what they perceive as a lack of information. Lugo gave his statement and then tried to leave, but he returned to the podium as people were yelling questions. Only then did he answer that Bhatt's husband is a person of interest.
The search at Bhatt's home could be a significant development. Forensic investigators from Prince William County's police department were present at the search, lending their abilities to Manassas Park police, who are the lead investigators on the disappearance.
Missing mom's friends frustrated with pace of investigation
Bhatt's friends and coworkers have said they are extremely concerned for her and frustrated that it's taking so long to get answers.
"We trust the law, and then now, when this is happening here, I really don't want to go home and tell my kids that it took them 21 days to search her own home," one friend said. "She could be there, looking for us to come. Or maybe something has happened in the house. We could have done something."
"I will say on behalf of everyone who's been searching for her: We're not sleeping well. We're not thinking clearly," Bhatt's friend Holly Wirth said. They've been texting each other at 2 or 3 a.m., trying to figure out how to get Bhatt's story out there and generate leads.
As Bhatt's daughter's first birthday came and went, her friends saw this as a time to kick up some renewed interest in her disappearance. Some of them met with the police chief Monday and said the disappearance was extremely uncharacteristic of her.
Bhatt's friends and coworkers turned out twice to search a park just a short distance from the home, but no trace of her was found.
Bhatt reported to her job as a pediatric nurse at the UVA Prince William Medical Center on July 27, according to a police timeline. She spoke to a friend on July 28 and was last seen at her home by her husband on July 31, police said.
But it was her coworkers who requested a welfare check on Aug. 2, after she failed to show up for work. Officers went to the home and spoke to her husband, who at that time gave them additional information and said he didn't want to report her as missing.
Three days later, he contacted police and reported her missing.
However, her disappearance was not declared involuntary until Aug. 8. The pace has frustrated her friends.
Manassas Park police say her credit cards, bank statements and phone have showed no activity since her disappearance.
Bhatt's husband spoke to News4 very briefly last week, saying he was busy taking care of the couple's child, but he said he needed his wife to be home.
