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AP
Turkish men pin up a photo of Sarai Sierra, a New York City woman who disappeared while on vacation in Istanbul.
The cellphone of a New York City mom missing in Istanbul has been used twice since she vanished, a Turkish newspaper reported Friday.
Sarai Sierra, 33, hasn’t been seen heard from since Jan. 21, the day before she was supposed to catch a flight home from a two-week vacation.
But police believe the amateur photographer is alive because her phone was used for a Skype call on Wednesday and turned on again Thursday, the Sabah newspaper reported, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
Cops briefly detained a man who exchanged online messages with Sierra after meeting her online four months ago, contacted her while she was in Istanbul and made plans to rendezvous with her on a bridge she wanted to photograph, Hurriyet said.
The man reportedly told police the two never connected, and investigators are now hoping to question three other people she corresponded with on Facebook and Twitter.
Sierra left for her first trip abroad on Jan. 7 — flying solo after a close friend dropped out of the prepaid trip, her family has said.
Her husband, Steven Sierra, said his wife stayed in close contact, talking to him and their children, ages 9 and 11, by phone and Skype.
The last communication from her came Jan. 21, when she sent her sister a brief message saying she would be home the next day.
When she didn't show up at the airport, her husband called her hostel, which said her passport and other personal items were still there.
Police uncovered surveillance-camera footage of Sierra walking around Istanbul during her visit; she appeared to be alone and well.
Steven Sierra and Sarai's brother, David Jimenez, flew to Turkey earlier this week and turned over her online communications to police.
"I don't want to come home without my sister," Jimenez told NBC New York before the trip.
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People go missing all the time,, I am sure she dose not want to be found,,
You are assuming that she doesn't want to be found, I would hate for you to be the police officer assigned to the case. Your assumption apparently does not take into account that "she sent her sister a brief message to say that she would be home tomorrow."!
Not many moms disappear from their children. Sounds like she met with bad circumstances. Wonder why she was there? Out of country travel in that part of the world can be very dangerous - especially for a woman alone.
I would say one of 4 scenarios apply here: 1) She was having an affair and wanted to disappear (not likely) 2) She was kidnapped by some crazy person that will kill her 3) She was taken to be put into sex slavery 4) She was taken hostage by an extreme muslim (they just bombed the Turkish Embassy you know) My prayers are with her family that she will be found alive and well.................................
I meant to say the US Embassy in Turkey.
Oh Becky, you read a lot of romance novels don't you? Typical American never been anywhere but knows everything about everywhere. She hooked up with some guy on the internet and from there things went south. There is so much more to this: married woman with two small children but travelling alone. Over the last 12 years I have put more than a million miles on just one carrier so I have seen a bit. That this happens isn't what surprises me it is that it doesn't happen more often, I guess God takes care of drunks and fools, but not this one.
Definitely sounds like she was having an affair and that something went awry at the end of the tryst.
It was previously reported that she was in contact with "the mystery man", before she left for Turkey.
In Muslim countries women sometimes disappear.Sometimes Turkish women and sometimes"western women.And particuarly with the rise of Muslm fundamentalism it`s probably more risky than it was 10-20 years ago.Women who travel alone to Muslm countries are taking a BIG risk.Perhaps nothing will happen .but perhaps something will.In this particular case ,we don`t know.But in general,,women BEWARE !
Who goes to Turkey by themselves? Hope that lame move didn't cost her life.
Over there you (if you are a woman) can be killed for doing NOTHING....isn't religion great???
Apparently getting a "suspect" in Turkey was easier than getting a "suspect" in Benghazi.
Armchair warriors gearing up their Sherlock Holmes gear.
I honestly hope it's nothing more than a disenchanted housewife looking for a new life and I really hope she's found safely and unharmed.
@bearrubman She was found dead, so much for your assumptions!
Yeah, seeing she was found dead is really disappointing.
I'm thinking the same thing - something is wrong/missing with this on-going story.
Found dead, so much for believing the same thing as @bearrubman
I would never allow my wife to go on a trip to another country without me, or without friends, period. It's tough to have any compassion when people make bad choices like this. I don't care what anyone says about the safety of a given region, country, state, province, etc. We DON'T LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE BEAUTIFULL WOMEN ARE SAFE BY THEMSELVES!!! Sad but true
You wouldn't "allow" it? So, how much did you pay for your wife? Honestly, she can do whatever she wants, when she wants, WHERE she wants, whether you decide to "allow" it or not. Things like the above story also happen right here in the good old USA.
Agree so much! My attractive,young daughter at only 24 years old went on a trip to Europe with a girl friend. The girl friend backed out after they arrived in Europe! Crazy! My daughter is pretty adventurous and independent and didn't want to ruin her trip. So, she traveled through Europe alone. Of course, she met nice people along the way. I was so worried! But, at least it was Europe and not the middle east! She did fine and I had her call 2 or 3 times a day so I would know where she was, etc., but in-between what could happen? She had a great trip and all was fine, but.......it only takes one bad person to come along and it's all over!
I don't believe EMPSON is saying he would control his wife, but I think that more marriages ought to be based on mutual decisions. After all, it's a partnership. And as a woman, I can appreciate a husband telling his wife, the mother of his children, that he does NOT want her taking a risk like going to a third world country alone. Especially to go meet a strange man? It isn't like no wife has ever said to her husband "no you will NOT go do that!". It's part of being in a partnership, and about caring for each other and your family. And something IS missing from this story. Why did she go and why was she going to meet a stranger? Why did the friend drop out...perhaps the friend didn't like the sounds of how it was planned? There's a lot weird about this story.
@Pedestrian-in-SF
I'm guessing you aren't married or have kids. There are many things my wife won't allow me to do and I agree with Empson13, I wouldn't allow my wife to travel somewhere possibly dangerous by herself. When you're married with kids there are a lot of things you just shouldn't do and if your married to someone you love and respect, calling each other out when the other isn't using the best of judgement is something that happens a lot and you respect each other for it. It's Friday and if I got the idea in my head to go get drunk with a bunch of my friends tonight my wife wouldn't allow it because we have things that have to be done tonight and tomorrow morning. That being said, I hope this woman is found and is safe, but if she isn't, these two kids will now have to grow up without a mother.
Pedestrian-
That's pretty one-sided thinking there. So if the woman can do what she wants when and wherever she wants, does the same standard apply to men as well? If he decides to go to the local go-go club to ogle the girls does he have such latitude or is it ok for her to drive a pair of scissors in his back for having done so?
Obviously, this woman's independence has come back to bite her and now... her family is paying for it, eh? Yes, there are usually other people to think about in a relationship besides your SELF.
It sounds like she wasn't planning on going alone and at the last minute her travel partner bailed. I just did a quick check and flight from NYC to Turkey are about $800. If I had a non refundable ticket for $800...I would probably use it and go alone, especially if I'd been planning/looking forward to this trip for a long time.
Anyhow, I hope she's found alive and well
The person who compared this to his 24 year old daughter going to a foreign land alone, is way off base. There's a big difference between a father insisting he accompany his grown daughter, and a HUSBAND insisting he accompany his WIFE. It's hardly unheard of for men to accompany their WIVES to foreign countries. He should have outright sprung for that Turkey ticket and accompanied his wife. Period. If he couldn't get off work, he should not have allowed her to travel alone. This isn't a trip to Wal-mart. It's to TURKEY !!!!
Pro, we're talking about "allowing" a wife to travel by herself. Are you not "allowed" to go to the local strip joint, or do you decide not to go out of respect for your wife (or women in general)? Saying that you wouldn't "allow" someone something implies that you don't trust them to make decisions for themselves.
Willie, two strikes, you're out. ;) My marriage is a partnership, and I'm trusted to make my own decisions regarding my safety if I see fit. Neither of us feels it necessary to "allow" one another to do or not do what they wish. That said, we're far from perfect, but we keep working on it. We have both traveled to different locations solo over the years - there are things I want to see that would bore the Mr. to tears, and vice versa.
Agreed. But we don't even live in a world where women who aren't beautiful are safe. Last month a woman in here 80's was raped in a small town in Oregon, near where I live in Idaho. So, as someone else posted. no one should be traveling alone, especially in the middle east where feelings about Americans are not very positive. She was taking a grave chance traveling alone. I pray for her & her family, but the outcome doesn't look so good!
Two strikes? Your husband needs to allow you to go to a baseball game. (joking)
This situation is especially true when Turkey is a "conduit" in Human Trafficking. Being lured to Turkey and ending up in a brothel or worse yet in some harem in SW Asia or the Balkans does happen. This is well documented and nearly every East European country warns women of this. Unfortunately many of the women victimized who are from the poorer countries do not have a government that can or will get the type of assistance that the USA or other wealthy countries can.
So, my spouse and I both work to bring money into the household. One day, he announces that he's fed up with his job and is going to resign effective tomorrow so he can stay home and play video games. Because I trust him to make decisions for himself, I'll robotically agree to it and go to work by myself to pay the bills, etc. because he's a big boy and I trust his decision-making in this matter.
On the other hand, I disallow him to just quit. He can look for another job, but we need his income and I don't like the idea of him staying home to play games all day & night. He blows up and stomps his feet, crying because he wants to do what he wants, when & where he wants! We sleep in seperate bedrooms and I use my vibrator instead of getting the real thing.. you get it.
See the difference? On one hand we're 'allowing' people to do/be who & what they want; on the other we're not allowing. There has to be limits set out of respect for each partner in the relationship or it won't last for long.
PF, got drama? Honestly - if you have to go to such an extreme to make a point, well, that turtle has left the barn. Taking a vacation solo to indulge in a hobby you love is NOT the same as quitting your job to play video games while the spouse tries to make ends meet. Of course, I suppose he actually COULD do that whether you threaten to cut him off from old glory or not, but that wouldn't really say much about the quality of person you decided to marry.
I stand by my original statement - saying that something is "not allowed" is saying that you don't trust that individual to make informed decisions. This woman could have been abducted, murdered, raped... 2 blocks from her home.
The chauvinism on threads about this story is incredible. Do these idiots really treat their significant others this way; or, are we just hearing misogynistic fantasies that they would NEVER dare express in real life? If women are really not being "allowed" to do simple things like be where they want to be when they want to be there, we have a HUGE problem in this country!
Sorry the example was too much for ya! At least I tried eh? Ah well, better luck next time trying to help you see your own contradictions. Enjoy!
I feel bad for this mother. As sad as it seems, I hope she comes home safely! I have been to Istanbul, 10 years ago, and it is a 3rd world country indeed. If I hadn't been with Turkish people myself, I would have been afraid. It is a beautiful city, but I would never travel there alone! The city is so big and over populated, I was afraid just being in the mall without my company close at hand. God bless this woman and I hope she returns home safely!!! Godspeed!!!!
Honestly, she can do whatever she wants, when she wants, WHERE she wants, whether you decide to "allow" it or not.
-Pedestrian in SF
grow up dude, or chic, or whatever... stop taking people literally, you clearly know better. Makes me think you are just paving an avenue to spout your self righteousness. which in my book basically makes you another republican moron.
Pedestrian
I stand by my original statement - saying that something is "not allowed" is saying that you don't trust that individual to make informed decisions. This woman could have been abducted, murdered, raped... 2 blocks from her home.
Being abducted, murdered and raped 2 blocks from her home cannot be compared to willingly going to a foreign country which is known to be unsafe. Partnership in a marriage also means protecting your loved one from harm and if it means 'not allowing' her to go to an unsafe country alone, then so be it.
Not really safe right now for Americans to go to countries like that, especially if you are a woman and alone. I hope she is found, but it doesn't look real promising right now............................
Americans travel and for some reason expect that their safety and security is assured throughout the entire world just because they are Americans. When they get murdered or go missing, their families expect the State Department to put the entire resources of the U.S. into the search. Use some common sense in foreign countries, please. Women should not be going off to meet strange men, particularly in countries where the rights of women are marginal at best. Just because a man flirts with you doesn't mean that you are safe. Ask Natalie Holloway. Turkey is a very welcoming country, but there are good and bad people everywhere.
Well said, damn those bad people!!! They wil get theirs, either on earth & or eternal HELL!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like she corresponded with the wrong person and they might one day find her body.
Uhh I dont know...Not so much that she would miss her husband, but her KIDS!!! Sounds like another kidnapping for that sex-industry that is causing these to what most are on the attractive side. SAD SAD!!!!
She takes a long photo vacation independant of her family? This is something that a mother would never do unless she is a spy.
How long have you been a mom MIKE?
Hey Mike -
Did your parents have any kids that lived?
mrodrques thanks for the laugh! Mike is obviously a surviving child of his parents.
This guy they have detained will just deny any involvement in her disappearance and, unless they uncover some hard evidence otherwise, he will walk away free.
Hate to say this but some people just don't get it: You don't go hiking into N Korea to see the beautiful countryside; you don't go to Iran to hike in the mountains; you don't go to Afghanistan to protest the US military involvement there and use of drones; you don't do these things any more than have a married woman travel to a place like Istanbul alone on some photography vacation without something bad happening and causing an international incident. Hope they find her alive and well but the more time goes on the less likely this will be.
So, you know nothing about Istanbul. I figured as much.
Been there, done that.
Mind your own business ok?
Ooo. Are you saying I'm not "allowed" to respond to you now, PF? Darlin' - if you don't want your business minded, perhaps you shouldn't post it on a public board. Istanbul is hardly Iran or North Korea - to imply such is just ignorant.
So now we're into name calling, eh Darlin'? You're invading my space by making suggestions that are false about me. You know nothing about where I've been and what I've experienced so you may not pass judgments. Rather, they're called assumptions... you know what happens when you assume?
You get kind of bossy when you get called out on your "assumptions" about international travel. Sometimes bad things happen no matter where people are.
Yep, bad things can happen especially in midlle eastern countries... like Turkey too. Obviously since this poor woman has come up missing. Glad we're in agreement now ;)
Pedestrian-in-SF...you are an online bully. Why do you keep pestering someone who has moved on but you have to keep picking until you get the last word. If you are married you "allow" your husband to do many things just as he "allows" you to do many things. It ranges from "you've been playing basketball and I won't allow you to sleep with me until you shower" to "I will not stay here and take care of 2 children while you put yourself in a dangerous situation." The husband did "allow" her to go and her children may pay the price. Hoping she is found alive.
Yikes. Don't know how any man could stand to be married to someone like Pedestrian. ISH!
FYI - I know Istanbul. Read post 3.11. This is the most likely scenario. This woman made a HUGE error in judgement hooking up with someone on-line in Turkey and then actually following up by going there alone to meet him. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID gal.
I am saying she was kidnapped by sex trafficers. In Eastern Europe and former Soviet coutries women are routinely kidnapped, addicted to heroin, and forced to have sex with 30 - 40 men a day. They just keep them doped up, chained to a bed, and cycle men through one after another. It is truly sad that people will do this, profiting off anothers pure misery.
That or she ran off with some other dude. I hope that's the case.
It sure sounds like that. After watching the movie "Taken" last night it does make you wonder. The whole sex trade thing is really getting a lot of pub here so hopefully it can start to shine a light on this seedy side of humanity.
Yeah, I saw "Taken," and it was thrilling but unrealistic how the Leeson character single-handedly rescued his daughter.
yes treadmill guy! IT WAS A MOVIE.
There was a special on frontline on how women get sold into prostitution in Turkey. It is pretty crazy over there. I hope that is not the case. Does sound weird left family at home for this vacation.
..."on how women get sold into prostitution in Turkey. Its pretty crazy over there."
Obviously you are stuck inside your own, sad, small world. If you don't realize that women and children are sold into prostitution and sex slavery in nearly every country, you are mistaken. There are constantly 'specials' and people campaigning to stop sex slavery around the world. In the US, Europe, everywhere! Just turn on CNN. This is an issue that needs attention everywhere. Istanbul especially is safer for tourists of all nationalities than many European cities where you're likely to get pick-pocketed if not worse! Read the story about this woman, don't assume she was "sold into prostitution."
Digitalia -
Well, by golly, I guess jeno told you! And if you really live in your own, sad, small world, at least it's yours!
Cheers!
Hoping for the best, but this doesn't sound good. I would never have gone, even if the trip was prepaid...solo travel can be dangerous, no matter where you go, man or woman. My husband, like a post from above, would more than likely not allow me to go either. He has traveled extensively around the world, and would just have my best interest at heart. Hope she is found!!!
She'll be found all right. We just don't know on what side of the grass.
This makes no sense. Even if I paid for my wife to go on a lavish trip overseas for a week of pampering she would refuse to go without me and our boys. That is generally the way spouses with kids tend to be. There is no way my wife (or I) would go on a trip by herself to a unfamiliar country.....especially not one that isn't overly-American friendly.
I have been to Turkey and found the people welcoming and friendly although women need to be aware of how different the cultures are and they do not have the same rights there as we have in the US. While there I was traveling with a large mixed group I did go out shopping on my own a few times. I found it to be overwhelming at times because of how aggressive the men behaved. Prior to shopping alone I had a well-known Turkish friend that introduced me around letting other shop keepers know we were friends before I began my shopping. This helped immensely, but you still have to be watchful. I loved the country and the people, but I would never go there alone as a woman. We just don't have the same rights and can't expect to be treated the same as we are in the US when traveling abroad. People have to keep this in mind.
At the risk of sounding insensitive, this woman is an idiot. Normal women don't leave their family, travel halfway around the world ALONE to some _@!$%#hole like Turkey and stay in a hostel to take photographs. What's with the arranged meeting with some guy on a bridge? What was she really doing there? Perhaps she wanted to get out of her marriage and doesn't want to be found. Or, she's no longer among the living. Stay tuned.
Welcoming my @ss…
The Turkish government and tourist board do a fantastic job in marketing travel to their country.
I've traveled throughout Turkey, and Istanbul as part of a tour-group (meaning, I was never alone), and would NEVER go back… at least not without a man glued to my side. No way, not a chance. The men there are very agressive… but as a Westerner, we must accept that in their religion and culture they are raised to not respect women. I was verbally assaulted (more than once), men offered to "buy" me (more than once), the men ALWAYS tried to get one, or two women to follow them to their store (who knows where), alone… Fast-forward… I've since traveled to much more of the world since then and have yet to find a place, even alone, that I felt so incredibly unsafe.
That said, I get what was trying to be said before by "Epsom13"… if I was a man, I wouldn't allow my wife to travel to that part of the world alone… ever. Not because I "own" her, but because I care about her, her safety and my family too much to let her take that kind of a trip alone. HOWEVER… I suspect this poor woman (and her family) was (were) naive in believing she'd be safe traveling there alone.
My heart and prayers go out to Serrai's family… I hope they get the answers they are looking for, even if its not in the form of good news.
you are so right. it would be infinitely worse if she just disappeared forever and they never knew what happened! God! her poor family!
Why did the close friend cancel what was surely a very expensive pre-paid trip? Why wasn't her husband with her if it was a vacation? Who lets their wife travel alone in a foreign land so far away for two weeks? Why didn't her husband see if he could get a transfer of that pre-paid ticket of the close friend? This kidnapping could have been prevented.
Idiot, why are there people like you in the world?
Um, it works better if you reply to the post you're referrnig to.
I lived in Turkey for two years and it was wonderful, but a woman should NOT be alone when going out there! I made the mistake of leaving a club alone one night and got mugged...was it wrong that the man did it??, of course. Was it really wrong and STUPID of me to be out by myself and put myself in danger?, ABSOLUTELY!
Women, myself included, need to stop putting themselves in potentially dangerous situations! Now, these types of things happen anywhere in the world, but especially in that part of the world.
And FYI, I wouldn't allow my husband to go by himself and he certainly wouldn't let me go either. Is it a control issue? Not at all. It's a respect and responsibility issue, especially now that we have children.
Amen sister, you are so right, it isn't a control issue like some people posted, it is a common sense issue. I know my husband wouldn't let (want me to) go alone, nor would I want him to go alone. Too many things can go wrong.
SundayMorningCoffee, I like your screen name, and I am sorry you were mugged. Please, don't leave a bar alone at night anywhere. Unfortunately it isn't safe for a woman out alone at night in any country, city or small town, leaving a bar! Glad that you lived through it and learned.
what was she doing meeting a man from online when she is married with children ???
i say she is a cheater wh0re
I say you're a man, because only men call women whores.
she went alone---not a good decision---hopefully she'll get out alive--if not she won't make that mistake again
way harsh, dorothy.
Istanbul cops have detained an unidentified man who exchanged online messages with Sarai Sierra, 33, who traveled to Turkey for a vacation and failed to catch her flight home two weeks later, The Associated Press reported, quoting an unnamed police official.
What I wonder were the details of her conversation with this man? Was it romantic, or harmless?
Nothing at all remotely suspicious about a mother of two going on vacation by herself to a politically and religiously unstable enclave in the Middle East...nothing peculiar here. Please don't waste my tax dollars looking for this woman. As far as I'm concerned she's on her own, just like she wanted it.
You need to visit your tax paid for local library and look at an atlas and find Turkey (hint--it's not in the middle east) and then check out a book or two about the region.
Most of Turkey is in Asia with a small part - Istanbul - in Europe. And though not the most stable government in Asia it is far from being a politically unstable country.
I think they should check the content of these messages, and see if she was perhaps having an affair. It isn't common for women to leave kids but it HAS happened. Some parents become clouded in judgment when they fall in love and leave their kids with the other parent to raise.
Regardless, checking the messages should pull up an IP address, and it should come back to someone's computer. Unless he used a cybercafe or some other place like that, they should be able to find him and question him about her whereabouts.
seems a bit odd to go without your family. She is probably getting laid somewhere and forgot about the family.
Yeah right, and just leave her passport at her hotel without checking out? Nobody (even you, I'd think) would be that damn stupid, she could still disappear with her passport you know... At least then she could have an ID if she'd ever need it later, but trusting it with a hotel clerk that's in charge of the room you never checked out of??? IDK, it'd be a pretty damn stupid move in a very unfriendly country towards Americans...