CTTO/Inquirer.net
Tarlac City, Philippines — Another abandoned vehicle, believed to be connected to the case of the missing Pampanga beauty pageant candidate and her Israeli boyfriend, was discovered by authorities on Sunday night.
Capas police chief Lt. Col. Librado Maranang Jr. confirmed the find in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net. “I don’t have many details yet about the abandoned vehicle found in Tarlac City. We will discuss the connection of the vehicle found last night to the case,” Maranang stated.
The vehicle was located along Barangay Tibag, Tarlac City, by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. In a separate interview, Maranang mentioned that the Tarlac Police Provincial Office has already formed a committee on missing persons to expedite the investigation and determine the connection between the discovered vehicles and the missing persons case.
The missing individuals, Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitchak Cohen, were last seen on June 21. According to previous reports, the couple had traveled to Tarlac to inspect a 20.5-hectare agricultural land they were interested in purchasing.
Authorities cited the middleman the couple met, noting that they were last spotted around 2 p.m. on June 21. Their gray Nissan Terra SUV was found burning along the Capas-San Jose Road in Cristo Rey village at 2:36 a.m. on June 22.
In an earlier radio interview, Maranang revealed that police are examining what appears to be a burned cellphone or tablet found inside the SUV. The search for witnesses continues, as police appeal for anyone with information about the couple’s disappearance to come forward and assist with the investigation.
The Tarlac Police Provincial Office’s newly formed committee aims to expedite the investigation, with hopes of uncovering crucial leads and bringing clarity to the mysterious disappearance.