Family 'still hopes' to find missing Florida woman alive as husband arrested 3 months after disappearance

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA: The distraught family members of the Florida woman who went missing in Spain three months ago remain hopeful that she will be found alive, despite her estranged husband being arrested and accused of kidnapping her in an unsettling transnational conspiracy.

Ana Knezevich's family expressed being "traumatized" by the arrest of David Knezevich, an event they had relocated to Spain to escape from during their contentious divorce, they revealed during a press conference on Wednesday, May 8.

Ana Knezevich's family expressed hope for her return

In response to the troubling allegations against his brother-in-law, Juan Felipe Henao, Ana's brother expressed profound dismay, stating, "We feel a profound sense of betrayal—we're utterly shocked."

The siblings' mother sat silently beside Henao as he conveyed, "If anyone out there possesses any information regarding her whereabouts, we still cling to hope that we can locate my sister," according to WSVN.

“If she’s out there, somewhere, I just want to tell her we all love her, we miss her, we support her, we’re her voice. I just hope she is out there and we can find her soon,” he went on to say.

Around February 2, Ana, aged 40, disappeared from Madrid. Her estranged husband, aged 36, was arrested on Saturday, May 4, at Miami International Airport on suspicion of kidnapping her.

The international investigation that culminated in the arrest was spearheaded by the FBI in Florida, alongside law enforcement in Spain, the Colombian government (Ana's country of birth), and the Interior Attache Office in Belgrade.

David Knezevich, originally from Serbia, relocated to Belgrade after Ana was last seen and consistently maintained that he had no involvement in her disappearance.

Ana Knezevich sent 'bizarre messages' to her friend 

The couple had previously shared a home and operated a computer business in the Fort Lauderdale region. However, according to her family, Ana moved to Madrid in late 2023 to take a vacation from their contentious divorce.

Ana sent a message to her friend Sanna Rameau on February 2 telling her that she had met a man and would be spending time with him in Barcelona.

Rameau mentioned during the press conference on Wednesday, May 8, that they subsequently "received very peculiar messages from her phone."

Rameau expressed skepticism, stating, "I don't believe it was her who was sending them, that Saturday afternoon before she disappeared." Rameau believes David Knezevich may have written them in "perfect Colombian [Spanish]" to imitate Ana with the assistance of a friend.

“She has not left on her own, she has been taken against her will,” Rameau added.

Ana Knezevich's brother expresses confidence in the American authorities

Investigators now suspect that David was the individual seen outside Ana's apartment shortly before she disappeared, wearing a motorcycle helmet and painting the security camera's lens.

Unsealed court documents this week revealed that a man resembling David was captured on camera purchasing paint and duct tape from a nearby store hours before the incident, the New York Post reported.

However, David's lawyer objected on several occasions, pointing out that the business owner was in Belgrade, 1,600 miles away, when his estranged wife disappeared.

Authorities uncovered that David had rented a car in the Serbian capital a few days before Ana's disappearance, providing him with ample time to travel to Madrid.

The Spanish police also found that at the time of Ana's disappearance, license plate readers on her street detected plates that had been reported stolen.

A few hours after her disappearance, the same plates were reportedly seen passing through a toll booth in the suburbs of the city.

The rental agency informed investigators that when David returned the vehicle after five weeks, the license plates had been changed, and the windows had reportedly been tinted. Additionally, the vehicle had covered a distance of 4,800 miles during that period.

Expressing gratitude to Ana's friends, her brother praised them as "the ones who alerted everybody about all of this." He added, "As you can see, my sister is deeply cherished."

The grieving brother continued, "The family is confident that authorities will uncover the truth, even though months have passed since Ana was last seen or heard from."

“We trust the American authorities, the justice system, we trust that they’re going to make justice for my sister. That’s what we all want,” Heneo insisted.

David Knezevich is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Friday, May 10.