P250,000 reward offered for info on missing pageant bet, boyfriend

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 from Presy Carreon Lopez Facebook

MABALACAT CITY, PAMPANGA, Philippines — The family of Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate Geneva Lopez has offered P250,000 to anyone who could provide useful information that would lead to finding her and her Israeli boyfriend.

A Facebook post of Lopez’s sister, Joni, on Wednesday aired this appeal: “Have you seen them? Nakita mo ba sila? Last seen Friday, 21/6/2024 at Capas, Tarlac. P250,000 for any valid information leading to their finding. Para sa anumang wastong impormasyon na humahantong sa kanilang paghahanap. Email: [email protected].”

Lopez, 27, and her Israeli boyfriend Yitzchak Cohen, 37, went to Tarlac province on June 21 to inspect an agricultural land they were planning to buy, the Capas town police said on Tuesday.

READ: Tarlac cops start retracing steps of missing couple

The Angeles City police in nearby Pampanga province said the couple left their house in Barangay Malabanias onboard a gray Nissan Terra sport utility vehicle (SUV) at 1:20 p.m. to meet the middleman in the real estate deal.

Lt. Col. Librado Manarang, Capas police chief, told the Inquirer on Tuesday that the middleman executed a sworn statement in which he said he had met with Lopez and Cohen in front of a gasoline station at Barangay Cristo Rey around 2 p.m. on June 21.

From there, the middleman said they proceeded to Armenia village in Tarlac City where the 12.5-hectare and 8-ha agricultural properties are located. Shortly after inspecting the area, they parted ways, the middleman told the police.

Appeal

Lopez’s sister, in her post, said the couple was declared missing around mid-afternoon on June 21 after their relatives failed to contact them through phone or via their social media accounts, particularly Facebook.

The family turned to social media by posting about the incident before seeking police help on Saturday.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Capas police have been tracing back the movement of the couple before their disappearance.

Manarang said that could be around 4 p.m., if the travel time to Armenia village from Cristo Rey and the time they spent checking out the two parcels of land would be considered.

At 2:36 a.m. on June 22, the vehicle used by the missing couple was found burning along the Capas-San Jose Road in Cristo Rey village.

Bureau of Fire Protection personnel in Capas also collected debris from the torched vehicle and sent them to the agency’s national headquarters for laboratory analysis to determine if the SUV was intentionally burned.