TASK FORCE TO PROBE CASE OF MISSING BEAUTY QUEEN

PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil has ordered the creation of a special investigation task group (SITG) to look into the disappearance of Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitchak Cohen.

PNP spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo said the "SITG Genesaac" would be composed of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Highway Patrol Group (HPG), Anti-Cybercrime Group, and Forensic Group, among others.

She said they have identified several persons of interest in the case.

"We have identified persons of interest but I cannot give a number right now. The CIDG requested to withhold the details for now. But we are pursuing very good leads," she said.

She said the couple was last seen at about 2 p.m. on June 21. Their gray Nissan Terra sport utility vehicle was found burning along the Capas-San Jose Road in Cristo Rey village at 2:36 a.m. on June 22.

Earlier reports said Lopez and Cohen met a "middleman" in Tarlac to check the 20.5-hectare agricultural land they intended to buy.

"The HPG went to the address indicated in the vehicle's certificate of registration but based on the initial interview, its registered owner said the vehicle has been transferred to another person. Per my talks with HPG director Brigadier General Jay Cumigad, they would go to the address of the person who now owns the vehicle so they can trace its history and how it was obtained by the persons of interest whom we have identified," Fajardo said.

2024-07-02T16:11:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd