Nancy Ng Guatemala: Kayak company speaks out after California woman goes missing in Lake Atitlán
LOS ANGELES — The owners of the company that rented a kayak to a Californian in Guatemala before her disappearance are speaking out and sharing details about what happened after the trip ended.
Nancy Ng has not been seen since October 19th. It is believed that she was on a kayak on Lake Atitlán with a yoga group that day, but many of the witnesses who may have further information about her activities have reportedly not cooperated with investigators.
Lee and Elaine Beal, owners of Kayak Guatemala, spoke to ABC News and said the yoga group consisted of 10 people, including Nancy.
That morning they made their way to the water. The couple even shared a photo one of their co-workers took of the group.
“When the group returned, there were only eight that came back, but we could see two individual kayaks in the distance, about 100 meters away,” Lee recalled.
These two kayakers were Nancy and another woman.
“We watched them paddling until we lost sight of them,” he said. Then an emergency signal was triggered.
“I saw the survivor being led up the steps with the yoga teacher. She was obviously distressed and they didn’t say a word to us,” Elaine said.
RELATED: Family seeks answers after California woman disappears during yoga retreat in Guatemala
However, there was no sign of Nancy.
Lee mentioned that no one in the remaining group seemed interested in talking to anyone.
“It was almost like I immediately stood back and said, ‘We’re not going to say anything,'” Lee said.
The Beals said they called the group’s hotel the next morning because they hadn’t been paid and then found out they were gone.
“I just don’t understand the need to leave within eight or 12 hours of the accident,” Elaine said.
ABC News has learned that Guatemala’s attorney general’s office was unable to interview the woman who was with Nancy or the tour guide because the group had left the country. They have requested international assistance to speak with them but are still waiting for a response.
Nancy’s family hired a private search team that searched much of the lake area by air and underwater, but found no trace of her.
The Guatemalan government said Wednesday that 95% of the lake had been searched and that efforts had now been halted.
Guatemalan government prosecutors I think she went swimming and drowned.
Family of Southern California woman who disappeared during yoga retreat in Guatemala speaks out; The FBI is involved in the searchThe FBI is currently involved in the urgent search for Nancy Ng, a Southern California woman whose family says she disappeared during a yoga retreat in Guatemala around October 19th.
Nancy’s family sent a statement to ABC News saying, “Our family has attempted to contact the witness many times over the past three weeks, but she does not want to speak to us. The police report we received also did not contain any direct statement from her.” The silence has hampered our search efforts and left us in the dark about what happened to Nancy. We don’t know what nightmare scenario to believe in.”
Nancy worked with children with disabilities in the Alhambra Unified School District in California. They describe her as a loving and cheerful person.
