CNN
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Police say the husband of Mamta Kafre Bhatt, a 28-year-old Virginia mother who has been missing for more than three weeks, has been charged with concealing a body in connection with her disappearance.
Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, was taken away in handcuffs outside the couple’s home Thursday morning, according to video from CNN affiliate WJLA.
The husband has been charged with felony concealment of a body, according to Manassas Park police. The wife has not yet been found and the investigation into her disappearance remains ongoing.
The video also shows an infant being carried out of the home wrapped in a yellow blanket, and police say the couple’s young daughter is being cared for by a caregiver licensed by the Department of Social Services.
Police said detectives searched the couple’s home on Wednesday but did not provide details about the evidence that led to Naresh Bhatt’s arrest.
Naresh Bhatt had last seen his wife over dinner more than three weeks ago, he had previously told police.
He hasn’t seen her since then and stopped cooperating with investigators who executed a search warrant at the couple’s home on Wednesday, Manassas Park police said.
Police said Kafle Butt was last seen at the University of Virginia Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas on July 27. She spoke with a friend the next day and was last seen by her husband on July 31.
Police conducted a welfare check at the couple’s home on Aug. 2 and spoke with the husband. He “provided additional information” and told investigators he did not want to report his wife as missing at the time, police said. Three days later, the husband reported his wife missing, authorities said in an Aug. 15 news release.
The application for welfare was submitted by a colleague of Kafre-Batt’s at work, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.
Investigators conducted an extensive search from Aug. 5 to 8 and discovered a significant lack of recent contact with Kafle Butt and her family, friends, employers and on social media, which led them to upgrade her missing person status to involuntary/critical missing, the release said.
“I know and I respect that the public wants answers, but answers are limited due to the ongoing investigation and process, but I can assure you that this investigation remains a top priority for our department,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said at a press conference Wednesday.
Investigators executed 10 search warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to this case,” Lugo said Wednesday night as a search warrant was being executed at the Butt residence.
Asked Wednesday if there were any “suspects” in Kafre Butt’s disappearance, Lugo said her husband “is a suspect and everyone knows him,” adding that her husband had not been cooperative with police. This differs from the original statement police made on Aug. 15, which said “her husband, friends and colleagues have all been cooperative throughout the investigation and detectives will continue to pursue all investigative leads to locate Mamta Kafre.”
In an interview with WUSA last week, Butt said he was worried about where his wife was and that this isn’t the first time she has gone missing.
She has gone missing three times before, but never for this long, Butt said.
“I’m the one who’s suffering,” he told WUSA. “She’s the mother of my baby, she’s my wife. I’m the one who’s suffering, so I don’t know what to say.”
CNN has reached out to Butt, and court records show her husband is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday morning.
Madan Upreti, president of the Nepalese American Community Center of Manassas, told WUSA that the group has established a line of communication with police and is speaking with authorities daily to get updates on the investigation.
On August 10, friends started a community Facebook group to “raise awareness and coordinate search efforts” for Kafre Butt, the initial post said. Since then, the page has been updated daily with flyer distribution efforts, details of the search and rescue, and photos of Kafre Butt.
A GoFundMe has also been set up to help fund the search for Kafle Butt.
Anyone with information on Kafle Butt’s whereabouts can contact Manassas Park Police at 703-361-1136. Anonymous tips can be submitted by contacting Manassas Park Crime Solvers at 703-330-0330 or at manassascrimesolvers.org.
