Six months after Ana Knezevich vanished in Spain, authorities are combing through the woods in Italy for any trace of the missing Florida woman.
Loved ones last heard from Ana, 40, in February. Family members said she was living overseas in Spain, apart from her estranged husband-turned-kidnapping suspect, David Knezevich, 36, since December 2023.
The couple had been together for 13 years and shared a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before she packed her bags for Madrid.
In May, Knezevich was arrested and charged with Ana's kidnapping, federal authorities announced. However, her whereabouts have continued to perplex investigators.
On Wednesday, Spanish police announced renewed efforts to locate the missing woman have brought their investigation to Vincenza, Italy, "to participate in a search operation coordinated by the Italian authorities," according to a post on X. The search involves firefighters, local law enforcement, and the Rome office of the FBI.
Details of the search remain unclear, but Joaquín Amills, a spokesperson for the family, said the hunt was "one more step in the investigation," the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
Here's everything we know about Ana's case.
Who is Ana Knezevich?
"She's a beautiful soul," Ana's brother, Felipe Henao, previously told HNGN in an interview. "Ana's a very giving, strong, successful woman – a great sister."
Ana – a Colombian-born naturalized citizen – was in the midst of a rocky divorce from Knezevich when she relocated to Spain.
The wealthy couple owned several properties and a pair of tech companies in Florida.
In court documents, investigators described their separation as "contentious because Knezevich did not want to split the marital assets evenly."
Henao last spoke with Ana in late January, and friends said they stopped hearing from her at the beginning of February.
Loved ones grew suspicious over Ana's whereabouts after receiving a suspicious text from her phone stating she was going away with a man she had just met, investigators learned.
On Feb. 4, Spanish firefighters conducting a welfare check were unable to locate Ana at her apartment. Her cell phone, laptop and chargers were also missing, according to the FBI's criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage allegedly captures Knezevich at Ana's apartment
A man wearing a motorcycle helmet, resembling Knezevich, was allegedly captured on surveillance footage entering Ana's Madrid apartment building around the time of her disappearance.
Upon entering, the man was seen spray-painting the lens of a security camera. About an hour later, the same man was seen on video leaving the building with a suitcase. Ana was never recorded on camera walking out of her apartment.
Mysterious text messages sent from Ana's phone
Investigators learned Knezevich allegedly asked his Colombian girlfriend, who he met through a dating app, to translate a message into "perfect Colombian" for a friend in Serbia who he claimed was writing a script about a Colombian character around the time of Ana's disappearance, according to the affidavit.
The girlfriend contacted authorities when she came across a news article about Knezevich's alleged connection with Ana's disappearance, which also contained the message she translated and that first prompted Ana's friends to request a welfare check.
"I met someone wonderful. He has a summer house about 2h from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. There is barely any signal though. I'll call you when I come back. Kisses," the text message written in Colombian Spanish and sent to a friend from Ana's phone read, according to the affidavit.
"Yesterday I went for a walk after leaving therapy and a man approached me to flirt and we had an incredible connection," another message read.
Ana's plans for the future
Family said Ana was looking toward the future, envisioning life post-divorce.
She had made arrangements to visit Barcelona and had purchased tickets to a concert in Madrid.
Henao said his sister was also in the process of setting up the groundwork for a non-profit to help women in abusive relationships, however he declined to elaborate on the motivation behind those dreams.
Said Henao, "She had all these plans."
