Sarai Sierra Missing: Turkish police detain man over missing NYC woman, official says

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Sarai Sierra is shown in an undated family photo

/ AP Photo/Family Photo

(CBS/AP) ANKARA, Turkey - Istanbul police detained a man Friday who exchanged online messages with New York woman Sarai Sierra prior to her disappearance.

PICTURES: N.Y. mom missing in Turkey

Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul. Her family said she was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due back home in New York City, but she never checked into her flight.

A police official in Istanbul told The Associated Press under condition of anonymity that police questioned a man who was in contact with Sierra during her stay in the city. The official refused to identify him or provide further details on the arrest.

Turkish news reports said Sierra arranged to meet her contact on a bridge she planned to photograph on the day she went missing. It is unknown if the meeting had taken place.

Sierra left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. She planned to on the trip with a friend, but went alone when the friend couldn't make it.

Sierra's husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help in the search. Sierra's children are 9 and 11.

Complete coverage of the Sarai Sierra disappearance case on Crimesider