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American woman goes missing in Spain shortly after man disables cameras

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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 was also a chance 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. It was written, she said, in an emotionless style that wasn’t Ana’s. The Spanish message was so flat it appeared to have been written in English and run through Google Translate, she said.

“It just didn’t make sense,” Rameau told The Associated Press.

Spain US Missing American
This undated image provided by Sanna Rameau, shows Ana Maria Knezevic, right, and Rameau. 

Sanna Rameau / AP


She’s also tiny — smaller than the 4-feet-11-inches tall (1.5 meters) listed on her driver’s license, Rameau said. “I can lift her up with one arm and carry her away,” the friend said.

Police in Madrid and Fort Lauderdale were notified, launching investigations on each side of the Atlantic. Both agencies are being closed mouthed about where the search stands, with each declining comment. The American embassy in Madrid also declined comment.

Spain’s Missing Persons Association has posted Knezevic’s photograph around 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 they also own a home and two other Fort Lauderdale properties, one of those currently 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 the 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 telling 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.

Spain US Missing American
A poster for missing woman Ana Maria Knezevic displayed on a streetlight in Madrid, Spain. 

Manu Fernandez / AP


“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,” said Rameau.

Ana chose an apartment in Madrid’s wealthy and fashionable Salamanca quarter, traveled with Rameau in Austria in January, and planned to see a Spanish friend in Barcelona on Feb. 5 before reuniting with Rameau in Madrid starting Feb. 8.

But on Feb. 2 at about 9:30 p.m., the helmet-wearing man disabled the apartment complex’s security cameras — something no one searching for Ana knew for almost a week. She had a normal phone call with a friend about a half hour later. Neighbors said they last saw her about that time.

Spain US Missing American
This undated image provided by Sanna Rameau, shows paint obscuring a building’s security camera where Ana Maria Knezevic was staying in Madrid. 

Sanna Rameau / AP


The next day, Rameau became alarmed when she got a text from Ana’s phone.

“I met someone wonderful!! He has a summer house 2H (hours) from Madrid,” it read. “We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. Signal is spotty. I’ll call you when I get back.”

That was followed a minute later by a second text: “Yesterday after therapy I needed a walk and he approached me on the street! Amazing connection. Like I never had.”

The Spanish friend got similar texts, the ones that appeared to have been translated by computer.

Rameau said there is no chance she would run off with a stranger, and never told her friend that night she had met someone.

Spain US Missing American
This image of a screen shot provided by Sanna Rameau, shows a Feb. 3, 2024 text message thread between Ana Maria Knezevic and Rameau. 

Sanna Rameau / AP


Rameau and the Spanish friend contacted police after she didn’t respond to their increasingly frantic calls and texts. Firefighters went to her apartment for a wellness check, looked inside and found nothing amiss, Rameau said.

Madrid police said they would investigate if she didn’t show up for her Barcelona trip. When she didn’t, detectives asked a Spanish judge for permission to search her phone records and apartment, but absent strong evidence of a crime, they were denied.

Rameau and the Spanish friend then went to her building on Feb. 8, and learned from a clerk about the helmeted man painting the cameras. They alerted police.

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.”



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2 Mississippi inmates awaiting murder trials escape from prison

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7/5: CBS Evening News

18:16

Law enforcement officers were searching Friday for two inmates who escaped from a jail in southwestern Mississippi.

The two men are awaiting trial on murder charges in separate counties.

Tyrekennel Collins, 24, and Dezarrious Johnson, 18, broke out of the Claiborne County Detention Center at about 2:20 a.m. Friday, the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department said in a social media post.

Update: Johnson has a bad limp and an injury to his right leg that occurred during the escape (Pictured on the…

Posted by Claiborne County Sheriff Department on Friday, July 5, 2024

The jail is in Port Gibson, about 60 miles (96.6 kilometers) southwest of Jackson.

Camera footage showed Collins and Johnson escaping through the ceiling and leaving behind an outside wall, Claiborne County Sheriff Edward Goods told WAPT-TV. Johnson injured one of his legs during the escape and was walking with a limp, the sheriff’s department said.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said Collins and Johnson are considered armed and dangerous.

WJTV-TV reported Collins is charged with murder in the October killing of his cousin in Copiah County, which is about 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) west of Claiborne County. Court records on Friday did not show an indictment for Collins.

Johnson is charged with murder and aggravated assault in Jefferson County, which is just south of Claiborne County. Court records show he was indicted in the October 2022 killing of one person and injuries to two others. His trial is set to begin Oct. 15.





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As sunscreen misinformation spreads online, dermatologists face real-life impact of online trends

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With the holiday weekend in full swing, the anti-sunscreen movement’s recent spike is worrying dermatologists.

“It was not like this before,” Dr. Jeanine Downie, a board-certified dermatologist with her own practice in New Jersey told CBS News Confirmed. “I see easily six patients per week that are anti-sunscreen, where it used to be maybe one every other week or one a month. And now it’s just gotten crazy.”

Downie says in the last two weeks she’s diagnosed three squamous cell and two malignant melanomas, both of which can turn cancerous if not caught early. “And that’s me, just one little dermatologist,” she said.

This movement picked up steam in June, with creators on TikTok telling followers in no uncertain terms “stop wearing sunscreen.” At first, the posts received tens of thousands of views and likes. Dermatologists on the platform then began sharing their own reactions, with those videos gaining even more views. And more recently, influencer Nara Smith went viral sharing an at-home sunscreen recipe to her 8 million followers that dermatologists say does little to protect wearers from sun damage.

Dr. Shereene Idriss, a New York dermatologist who has amassed more than a million followers on her social media channels, is trying to leverage that influence to educate users about sunscreen and sun protection.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult, I think, as a consumer, to try to weed through the noise,” Idriss told CBS News Confirmed. 

This misinformation reflects the surprising reality of how some young Americans view sun safety. A study by the Orlando Health Cancer Institute in March found that 1 in 7 adults under the age of 35 say daily sunscreen use is more harmful than direct sun exposure. “I tell my patients, if you want your face to look like a leather bag later, then that’s up to you,” Downie said. About 6.1 million adults are treated each year for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas according to the CDC. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the country.

“They only want the natural things,” said Downie. “But I tell them all the time, sitting in traffic here in the tri-state area, the level of pollutants in the air on a daily, weekly and monthly basis is significantly more toxic than any chemical they’re going to rub into their skin with sunblock.”

While there’s no evidence that sunscreens are unsafe, the FDA is currently investigating potential concerns. It’s called for more data on 12 ingredients often found in U.S. sunscreen. After conducting its own study into how certain ingredients are absorbed into the bloodstream, the FDA has called for more research into potential health effects on the body.

However, beachgoers on the Jersey Shore this week told CBS News that sun safety is top of mind this summer. CBS News Confirmed looked at Google Search trends and saw terms like “sunscreen” and “what does skin cancer look like” are at an all-time high since tracking began in 2004.

“You know what gets them to start wearing sunblock?” said Downie. “Young kids and young adults, Gen Z, Gen X, they hate pores. And once they hear that they’re going to have big pores that look like potholes, they put that sunblock on.”

The dermatologists CBS Newsspoke with say there is no such thing as a healthy tan. To best protect yourself this summer, they say to use sunscreen and reapply often; wear UPF clothing or UV visors; and avoid being outside during peak UV index between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.



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