Burned gadget found in vehicle used by missing beauty pageant candidate

HAVE YOU SEEN THEM? Relatives of Geneva Lopez, a Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate, and her boyfriend, Yitchak Cohen, have continued to appeal for public help in finding them. They were last seen in Tarlac province on Friday after inspecting an agricultural land that they were intending to buy. —PHOTO FROMPRESY CARREON LOPEZ FACEBOOK

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities are examining what seemed like a burned “cellphone or tablet” found inside the vehicle used by Pampanga beauty pageant candidate and her Israeli boyfriend before they were reported missing last Friday, according to police.

“Today, we had another investigation with the SOCO (scene of crime operation) team; we found a gadget and gave it to the crime laboratory to examine it,” Capas police chief Lt. Col. Libradp Maranang Jr. said in Filipino during an interview over Radyo 630 on Wednesday.

“We don’t know if it’s a cellphone or a tablet because it’s burned,” he added.

READ: Tarlac cops start retracing steps of missing couple

Based on previous reports, Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate Geneva Lopez and Yitchak Cohen met someone in Tarlac to check a 20.5-hectare agricultural land that they intended to buy.

Citing the middleman the couple met, police said they were last seen around 2 p.m. on June 21, while their gray Nissan Terra sport utility vehicle (SUV) was found burning along the Capas-San Jose Road in Cristo Rey village at 2:36 a.m. on June 22.

In the same radio interview, Maranang said the police are still searching for witnesses to help them locate Lopez and Cohen.

He also appealed to anyone with information about the alleged disappearance of the couple to come forward and cooperate with authorities.

“We have also given reminders and information that whoever sees the two couples, please immediately inform the municipal police station in Capas. The hotline number is 09985985481,” Maranang said in Filipino.

“We have had a meeting with all the operatives here in Region 3, and from what we talked about, we are just waiting for an order from our higher headquarters if we are going to create a task force,” he added.