Family, friends search for missing Venezuelan woman

Family and friends are desperately looking for a 32-year-old Venezuelan woman who has been missing for eight days.

Johanna Díaz Sánchez left her home in Princes Town at 4pm on August 24.

Her 14-year-old daughter told relatives her mother said she was going to KFC in San Fernando to meet someone who would give her money. That day, friends saw her in the centre of San Fernando. It was the last time anyone saw her.

On August 25, her daughter told an aunt and other relatives her mother had not come home that night. She had not responded to messages and calls.

Karla Rodríguez, Sanchez’s cousin, went to the La Romaine and San Fernando police over the weekend to report her disappearance, and then to the Princes Town police on Monday. They were more receptive, she said.

Relatives and friends of the missing woman told Newsday that they suspect she may have been kidnapped. On Thursday night, several Venezuelans headed to a house in Gran Couva, where they think someone Sanchez knows might be holding her.

The police arrived too, but could not go inside because they did not have a search warrant.

Sanchez has been in TT for a year and a half.
She
is
currently unemployed, and relatives said she lived with a local man until a few months ago. She had been pregnant, but her son died at birth.

Her daughter is currently under the care of Rodriguez.

Yuraima Sánchez, Sanchez's mother, who is in Venezuela, told Newsday by phone that she is very worried about her daughter.

“I spoke with Johana for the last time last Wednesday. She told me that she made a money transfer for me to buy food for the family. Since that day I don't know anything about my daughter. I just want her to come back. She went to Trinidad to work for us,”

She said on Friday and Saturday she sent several messages to her daughter, but did not receive any responses. On Monday relatives here confirmed that her daughter had gone missing.

Sanchez's friend Selida Naranjo said, "We are worried about Johana. She is a good girl, dedicated to working for her daughter and her family."

Armando Obdola said, "There are already many cases of violence against women. What we are calling for is for the police to act and enforce human rights."

Obola hope it will not be too late when police are able to enter the house where they believe she is being kept.