January 6, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
cohassetanchor.com
UPDATE: CHIEF QUIGLEY SHARES INFORMATION ABOUT MISSING COHASSET WOMAN AT PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘WE’RE HOPING FOR THE BEST’
While there are still many questions in the search for Cohasset resident Ana Walshe, who was last seen by a family member at her home in Cohasset in the early morning hours on New Year’s Day, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley provided some answers during a Friday morning press conference.
“The focus right now is on getting Ana home,” Quigley said. “All we need is a phone call from her or someone she knows to let us know she’s okay.”
Walshe was reported missing by a family member last Wednesday and has not been heard from, according to Quigley. She was scheduled to take a flight to Washington, DC, on Jan. 3 but reportedly was scheduled to take an earlier flight on Jan. 1 to handle some type of emergency for the property management company she is employed by in DC, which simultaneously reported that she had not shown up for work.
While Walshe was scheduled to be picked up by Rideshare to take her to Logan Airport early on Jan. 1 morning, there is no evidence at this time that she actually took that ride and none that she took any flight out of Logan Airport, although she reportedly had her bags with her, according to Quigley. Her husband was sleeping when she left the house at about 4 a.m.
Confirming that Walshe did not take any flight on any airline out of Logan Airport was challenging, he said, because of the “chaos” surrounding all the cancelled flights due to inclement weather.
The CPD is leaving no stone unturned in trying to locate Walshe in what is now a missing person search. “We’re trying to locate Ana and get her home safely,” Quigley said. “We’re looking everywhere.”
A search of her family’s house and the adjacent area with a K-9 did not turn up anything. “We’ll revisit that today,” he said.
Walshe’s cell phone has been off since the first of the year, and investigators are attempting to track down her electronic footprint, so far without success. “It’s hard not to leave some kind of footprint — cell phone, credit cards, etc., but none have been active since the first of the year,” Quigley reported.
While the chief said there is “nothing to support anything suspicious or criminal” at this point, he stated that it’s “not normal that she is missing, so we automatically feel she could be in danger, but other than that, there is no evidence to support that.”
Walshe has a vehicle, which she leaves in DC, and also a townhouse there. “We’re working with Washington Metropolian Police, who searched the townhouse and found no signs of her there,” according to Quigley.
He also said it’s possible that Walshe “just needed a litle break. Life is challenging sometimes. Ana has three small kids ages 2 to 6 and works out-of-state several times a month, and life can get chaotic. All we need is a call from her or someone else [confirming she is all right].”
In response to a question from the press, Quigley said there is no history of mental illness.
When asked by a reporter why it “took so long” to report Walshe missing, Quigley said since she works from DC periodically, “it’s normal for her to work long hours and not contact home right away. That seems to be the case.”
www.cbsnews.com
