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Virginia man arrested on charges of concealing body weeks after wife’s disappearance
Virginia police investigating the disappearance of a 28-year-old mother who went missing last month said Thursday they have arrested her husband on charges of concealing a body.
Mamta Kafte Bhatt was last seen on July 27, the Manassas Park Police Department said on Thursday, and spoke to a friend over the phone on July 28, according to CBS affiliate WUSA. Her husband Naresh Bhatt reported last seeing her on July 31, according to WUSA, but he did not report her missing until August 5.
Before his arrest, Bhatt told WUSA that his wife had disappeared three other times, but never for this long. Earlier this month, police said the woman had been “involuntarily” missing.
A search warrant for the couple’s home was executed on Wednesday, police said. During the search, police obtained “additional evidence” that led to the charges. Bhatt was marched out of his home in handcuffs on Thursday, WUSA reported.
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During the news conference, police also said Bhatt was not cooperating with the investigation.
The couple’s one-year-old daughter was also taken from the home and has been placed in the care of the Department of Social Services, police said, and is “safe and being cared for by an appropriate care giver.”
“I’ve always thought that he did something,” neighbor Ivy Freedman told WUSA. “The mother wouldn’t leave her baby. Definitely wouldn’t miss her first birthday.”
Despite the charge of concealing a body, police said they are still investigating Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance and “hoping to locate her.” During a Thursday news conference, officials said they could not confirm she was dead.
In addition to Bhatt’s arrest, police said they have conducted hundreds of interviews and executed 10 search warrants while investigating Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance. Police said they are actively pursuing “additional investigative leads” that may result in additional charges.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
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Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.