Istanbul police start search for missing NYC mom

Sarai Sierra in undated family photo / AP

ANKARA, Turkey Police in Istanbul were scanning security camera footage Monday to try to trace a New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in the city, an official said.

Sarai Sierra, 33, was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was supposed to fly home after two weeks in Turkey.

A police official said authorities were reviewing footage from around Istanbul's Taksim neighborhood — the city's main hub where she was staying at a hostel.

Several police teams have also been dispatched to surrounding neighborhoods to find possible clues and witnesses, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization.

Turkey's private Dogan news agency meanwhile, reported that police had established that Sierra had traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, from Istanbul on Jan. 15 and then journeyed on to Munich, Germany, on Jan. 16, before returning to Istanbul on Jan. 19. Police were trying to determine the reason for her visit to the European cities, the report said.

Police were also trying to find the identity of a person she had been chatting with on the Internet, Dogan reported.

Another police official, contacted by The Associated Press, confirmed that Sierra had made a brief trip to Europe, but refused to provide further details. He also spoke on condition of anonymity saying he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

• Kin heading to Turkey seeking missing NYC mom Sarai Sierra

Before she went missing, the mother-of-two told family members that she planned to take some photographs at Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination about 1.2 miles away from Taksim that spans the Golden Horn waterway. She was then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.

Her belongings, including her passport and phone, were found in her room. The first police official said authorities were therefore not able to track her by her cell phone.

Sierra's husband and brother were traveling to Istanbul to follow the search. Her two children, aged 11 and 9, do not know their mother is missing, her brother David Jimenez told the AP Sunday.

Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend but ended up going by herself when the friend couldn't make it. She was looking forward to exploring her hobby of photography, her family said.

Crime in Turkey is generally low and Istanbul is a relatively safe city for travelers, though there are areas where women would be advised to avoid going alone at night. The Galata and the nearby Galata Bridge areas have been gentrified and are home to fish restaurants, chic cafes and boutiques.

[usbworks]

I was in Istanbul with my wife this past summer. We had a great time. It was far safer than New York. So I doubt that this disappearance is associated with a rape or a robbery.

1] Istanbul is a beautiful city, but not as pretty in the winter.
2] The tour operator is based in Amsterdam.
3] Sarai made side trips to Holland and Germany.

Sarai married very young at 19 years old and has been with her husband for 14 years. That's a long time with the same partner. I suspect that this disappearance is about love, sex, drugs or some combination.

[hemusbull]

Being in Istambul on vacation and riding tourist bus I didn't see even one female behind the wheel in this otherwise overcrawded metropolis...Plus knowing this is a the only secular but still muslim country, it tells me a lot. Too big gender inequalities and...all the time men watching women's backs.

[usbworks]

They weren't watching my wife's back when she was lying topless by the pool with all the other European ladies. Name one hotel in the US that would allow that without calling security.

[littleredtop]

The human species is remarkably stupid, particularly American feminists.

[88Ronin]

What?! You are pitiable.

[ralphing]

Yes, women should be free to do whatever they want to do, but traveling alone in a foreign country or anywhere for that matter, where you are in less populated areas, shouldn't be done.

I put this 2nd in the list dumb things to do where 1st on the list is hiking in a war zone on the Iraq-Iran border.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Nice that today's feminist feels she can do anything she wants. Hope she's enjoying her equality while waiting in the wife queue at the harem. Sorry to appear sexist, but this world traveler is well aware that he also can't do anything he wants, including travelling alone in the Middle East without regard to risks. Yes, there is less crime in Istanbul as the article reports, but the State Dept's website warns of continuing religious and terrorist violence targeting US citizens.

[usbworks]

What exactly do you think it is that she did to rationalize your attitude that "he can't do anything he wants"?

I'm guessing that she didn't climb on top the Galata bridge and burn the Koran.

[88Ronin]

If she disappered January 21, the walled compounds of princes in Saudi Arabia should be searched where she and hundreds of other women, kidnapped for Saudis from many countries, are to be found.

[usbworks]

Put away that DVD of Taken 2! You're starting to confuse fantasy with reality.