Mass. Mom of 3 Missing Since New Year's Day Was Last Seen at Her Home: 'Hoping for the Best,' Police Say
Cohasset Police Department
Police in Massachusetts are asking for the public's help locating a mom of three who went missing in the early hours of New Year's Day.
Ana Walshe, 39, of Cohasset, was reported missing on Wednesday, two days after she was last seen leaving her home in the coastal community, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said at a Friday morning news conference.
A family member who was at the home said they saw Walshe around 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning on Jan. 1, Quigley said. The chief said they were told she was trying to catch a flight to Washington, D.C., for a work-related trip, and that she used a rideshare service to get to the airport.
Quigley said they had not been able to confirm that she was picked up by a rideshare service, but that they do know she never boarded any flight from Logan Airport.
According to police, she had a flight booked for Jan. 3, but "it's been reported that she was called to D.C. to handle some type of emergency."
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At present, police are currently her disappearance as a missing person's case.
"It's not normal that she's missing, so we automatically feel that she's in danger by the mere fact that she's missing," Quigley told reporters, noting at another point that at this point there's "nothing to support anything suspicious or criminal."
"The focus right now is on trying to locate her," added the police chief. "All it takes is a phone call to let us know that she is okay."
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Cohasset police received simultaneous reports from Walshe's husband and her business in Washington D.C., on Wednesday regarding her disappearance, Quigley told reporters on Friday.
Walshe was reportedly called to D.C. to handle an emergency at one of the properties that she handled, according to the police chief. Her husband, whom police said is cooperating with the investigation, is said to have been sleeping when she left.
Quigley told reporters that Walshe reportedly had her bags with her when she left home on Sunday.
Her cell phone has been off since around Jan. 1, and she has left behind no electronic footprint since, according to police.
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Police said Walshe regularly commutes between her home in Cohasset and D.C., where she works as an executive for a property management company, identified by FOX affiliate WFXT as Tishman Speyer.
"We are actively assisting the local authorities in their ongoing search for our beloved colleague, Ana, and are praying for her safe return," the company tells PEOPLE in a statement.
Abdulla Almutairi, a friend of Walshe, told WFXT that he heard from her husband on Wednesday. He said the Cohasset man told him that he hadn't heard from Walshe "in some time" and expressed concern for her safety.
"Ana loves her kids," Almutairi said, adding that "the fact that she didn't check in" with her family raised red flags. "It's not within her pattern or characteristic to disappear," he added.
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During Friday's press conference, Quigley said that "it may be a case where she just needed a break, and if that's the case, we just need a call from her or someone who has talked to her."
"Life is challenging sometimes," the police chief remarked. "She has three small kids, the oldest being 6 [and] the youngest being 2. The holidays, working out of state — sometimes life gets chaotic."
It is unclear why it took two days for Walshe to be reported missing. However, Quigley said it's "not abnormal for her to work long hours and not contact the home right away."
Police in Washington, D.C., conducted a welfare check at Walshe's townhouse, but did not find anything, Quigley said.
Walshe's husband has been "fully cooperative," as have other members of the missing woman's family, per police. Additionally, Quigley noted that friends and her company's security department have also been cooperative, and have provided police with lots of information.
In 2021, her husband, Brian R. Walshe, pled guilty to selling fake Andy Warhol paintings in 2018, according to MassLive, The Boston Globe, and Fox News. He is currently awaiting sentencing, per the Globe. However, police have said there does not appear to be any connection with Walshe's disappearance.
Quigley said detectives are looking "everywhere" and "at everything" as they attempt to locate the missing woman. Police are combing through digital evidence for leads, but so far, local ring cameras and other devices "have turned up nothing."
A K-9 unit has already searched around Walshe's home, but will revisit the area at some point on Friday.
Police are determined to find Walshe, who has no known history of mental illness, as soon as possible. "We're asking the public to keep an eye out and hoping for the best," Quigley said.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact the Cohasset detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 extension 6108, or at hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.
