Another Western woman who thought she could go anywhere alone and do anything she liked is missing, probably murdered

(UPDATE: As reported in the February 2 New York Post, the woman was found stabbed to death in Istanbul. As for the man she was supposed to meet there, the police have released him without charges.)

The AP reports, February 1:

Istanbul police detain man over missing Staten Island woman

ANKARA, Turkey—Police in Istanbul on Friday detained a man who exchanged online messages with a missing New York City woman after questioning him over her disappearance.

Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul. She was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due back home.

A police official in Istanbul said police had questioned a man who had been in contact with Sierra during her stay in in the city. The official refused to identify him or provide further details on the arrest. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without authorization.

Turkish news reports said Sierra had arranged to meet her contact on a bridge she planned to photograph on the day she went missing. It was not known 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. Her family last heard from her on Jan. 21, when she was supposed to start her journey home, but she never checked into her flight.

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

Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend, but went alone when the friend couldn’t make it.

Wayne Lutton, who sent the article, writes:

I am still a bit taken aback when I read something like this. And I wonder if her husband tried to talk her out of the trip. Or if he just smiled and endorsed her decision to take a safari to a Muslim land.

Maybe this is all about “empowerment” and “not giving in to fear.” But maybe she didn’t even think that there was anything to fear by flying to Istanbul and meeting strangers at bridges while taking photographs.

- end of initial entry -

Alex B. writes:

What kind of man allows his young, attractive wife to leave him with the kids and travel overseas alone to meet with another man? And if the roles were reversed, would he be free to do the same?

That’s even aside from the other obvious problems that made this story possible (modern westerners believe that since we live in the age of progress, the entire world is safe, that third-worlders are kind, noble people just like us - no, better, nobler than us, etc.).

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 02, 2013 09:14 PM | Send