Ana Maria Knezevic traveled from South Florida to Spain in December to get away for a while. Her family and friends say the naturalized American originally from Colombia has been going through a nasty divorce from her Serbian husband, but the trip also was a chance for her to explore new places.
Then, she vanished — two weeks ago, shortly after a man wearing a motorcycle helmet disabled the security cameras at her Madrid apartment building by spray-painting the lenses.
The next day, two friends received separate text messages — one in English, one in Spanish — from the 40-year-old’s phone saying she was running off for a few days with a man she had just met.
“She wouldn’t do this … it is very unsafe and crazy behavior. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that,” said Sanna Rameau, the friend who got the English text.
The text was written, Rameau said, in an emotionless style that wasn’t Knezevic’s. The Spanish message was so flat it appeared to have been written in English and run through Google Translate, Rameau said.
“It just didn’t make sense,” she told The Associated Press.
Knezevic also is small — smaller than the 4-feet-11-inches listing on her driver’s license, Rameau said. “I can lift her up with one arm and carry her away.”
Police in Madrid and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were notified, launching investigations on each side of the Atlantic. Both agencies are being closed-mouthed about where the search stands, with each declining to comment.
The American embassy in Madrid also declined to comment.
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Spain’s Missing Persons Association has posted Knezevic’s photograph throughout the nation’s capital but has not received any responses, spokesman Joaquin Amills said.
David and Ana Knezevic have been married for 13 years and own EOX Technology Solutions Inc., which does computer support for South Florida businesses. Records show the couple also own a home and two other Fort Lauderdale properties, one of which is under foreclosure.
Ana’s brother, Juan Henao, called the divorce “nasty” in an interview with a Fort Lauderdale detective, a report shows.
“There is a substantial amount of money on the line to be split up between the two, and David is not happy about it,” the report says.
David Knezevic’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Henao told detective he believes his brother-in-law traveled to his home country of Serbia in January. After Ana disappeared, Henao texted David to ask if he knew her whereabouts. He replied “’Whats up?” before he told Henao that Ana was missing, which he already knew.
“Nothing else besides that,” Henao said.
In a short phone interview, Henao said he hopes the international attention will make finding Ana a top police priority.
“Let’s just keep pushing and see if that will get them to do more to help us find my sister,” he said.
No one answered the door Thursday at the Knezevics’ Fort Lauderdale home, where the mailbox is overflowing and the cars are covered in dirt and dust. No one answered the phone at their company, and David Knezevic did not respond to emails and a voicemail.
Rameau said Ana never mentioned fearing her husband or that he was abusive.
“She never said to me that she felt in danger,” Rameau said.
Now, Ana’s family and friends wait for news.
“I’m just desperate to find answers,” Rameau said. “I’m just desperate to find a reason for who could have done this.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
