Missing Staten Island woman Sarai Sierra’s Istanbul male online messenger detained, then released by Turkish police
The man, whose name was revealed to be Taylan, had exchanged emails with the vacationing mother of two and had been in contact with her during her stay. He was questioned by Turkish police on Friday, but then released.
Comments (31)By Ginger Adams Otis / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, February 1, 2013, 11:35 AM
Updated: Friday, February 1, 2013, 7:33 PM
AP
A CCTV video released by Turkish police on Jan. 29 shows a woman identified by cops as Sarai Sierra, 33, right, walking outside a shopping mall in Istanbul, Turkey.
A Turkish man who exchanged online messages with a missing Staten
Island mom was released from police custody in Istanbul Friday after
being briefly detained, a Turkish news agency reported.
Authorities questioned the man as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul.
The Staten Island resident was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due back home.
A police official in Istanbul said the man had been in contact with Sierra during her stay in in the city.
Prosecutors released the man Friday but may call him in again to help with their investigation, according to Dogan, a private Turkish news agency.
The man’s first name is Taylan, said Dogan, citing unnamed police sources.
The news agency said authorities believe Taylan, 30, met Sierra about four months ago on the Internet.
The two are believed to have met in person twice, said Dogan, but it’s not clear where or when the encounters took place.
Sierra, an amateur photographer, had arranged to meet someone on Galata bridge the day she went missing, Turkish news reports said.
It’s not known if she ever met anyone at the picturesque bridge near the hostel where she was staying, but video footage caught her standing there alone Jan. 21, the day she disappeared, Dogan said.
Sierra left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. Her family last heard from her on Jan. 21, when she was supposed to start her journey home, but she never checked into her flight.
Sierra’s husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help in the search. Her children, ages 9 and 11, haven’t been told their mother is missing, the family said.
Sierra’s children are 9 and 11.
Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend, but went alone when the friend couldn’t make it.
gotis@nydailynews.comAuthorities questioned the man as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul.
The Staten Island resident was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due back home.
A police official in Istanbul said the man had been in contact with Sierra during her stay in in the city.
Prosecutors released the man Friday but may call him in again to help with their investigation, according to Dogan, a private Turkish news agency.
The man’s first name is Taylan, said Dogan, citing unnamed police sources.
The news agency said authorities believe Taylan, 30, met Sierra about four months ago on the Internet.
The two are believed to have met in person twice, said Dogan, but it’s not clear where or when the encounters took place.
Sierra, an amateur photographer, had arranged to meet someone on Galata bridge the day she went missing, Turkish news reports said.
It’s not known if she ever met anyone at the picturesque bridge near the hostel where she was staying, but video footage caught her standing there alone Jan. 21, the day she disappeared, Dogan said.
Sierra left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. Her family last heard from her on Jan. 21, when she was supposed to start her journey home, but she never checked into her flight.
Sierra’s husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help in the search. Her children, ages 9 and 11, haven’t been told their mother is missing, the family said.
Sierra’s children are 9 and 11.
Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend, but went alone when the friend couldn’t make it.
With News Wire Services
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