The husband and brother of a Staten Island woman who vanished on vacation are heading to Turkey to look for her, as they keep the news of her disappearance from her two young sons.
Sarai Sierra, 33, arrived in Istanbul Jan. 7 and was supposed to return home last Tuesday to register for classes at College of Staten Island. But she didn’t show up for her return flight.
“There are no updates as to where she’s at,” Sierra’s anguished best friend, Magalena Rodriguez, said Sunday. “The Turkish police have been out all night long.”
Sierra’s husband and brother will fly from Newark, NJ, to Turkey Sunday night, where they will meet with American embassy officials. Her sons, ages 9 and 11, are staying with a family friend and being kept in the dark about the disappearance.
“There’s lot of hope,” Rodriguez said. “The American embassy is optimistic about Turkish police finding her.
Cops are checking hospitals, police precincts and other institutions in hopes of locating her. Sierra was supposed to be travelling with a friend, but the pal backed out of the trip at the last minute.
Sarai, who is 5-foot-2 and 110 pounds and has competed in triathlons, has fainted without warning from dehydration in the past, Rodriguez said.
“The only thing I can think of is she's hurt,” Rodriguez said of her disappearance. “Maybe she fainted.”
Rodriguez last spoke to Sierra a couple days before her trip. A passionate photographer, Sierra was planning to photograph graffiti in Turkey.
“She couldn’t wait to check out the sights,” Rodriguez said. “She was very, very excited.”
By Barry Paddock / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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