Ana Walshe Missing Update as Police Find Evidence in Mother-in-Law's Trash

Police searching for a missing mother of three are now focusing their investigation on a trash station as they search for clues to disappearance.

Ana Walshe, 39, vanished on New Year's Day, when she was scheduled to travel from her home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C., where she works for a real estate company during the week. She was reported missing on January 4. Her husband, Brian Walshe, 46, was arrested this weekend on suspicion of misleading a police investigation.

Investigators have now found trash bags filled with evidence, according to local news sources. A hack saw, hatchet, and used cleaning supplies were found at a local trash-processing site.

The investigation into the disappearance of Ana Walshe had moved to the trash station about an hour's drive from the Walshes' home, north of Cohasset, on Monday night. Officers, with specially-trained sniffer dogs from a K-9 unit, were seen combing through the garbage at the Republic Service Transfer Station on Forest Street in the town of Peabody.

It came as other officers laid crime scene tape around dumpsters at an apartment complex in the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, near the home of Brian Walshe's mother. He has previously said he visited his mother after his wife went missing.

WCVB reporter Emily Maher said footage filmed overhead in Peabody showed "a K9 and officers in hazmat suits combing thru trash" while adding "part of the search involves a dumpster brought from a Swampscott apartment complex, where Brian Walshe's mother lives."

Brian Walshe was arrested this weekend on suspicion of misleading a police investigation, with prosecutors alleging he bought $450 worth of cleaning products on January 2, while a damaged knife and traces of blood were found in the basement of their home. They say he also gave false answers about his movements.

An affidavit read: "The intentional, willful and direct responses to questions about his whereabouts on the days of Sunday, January 1, 2023, and Monday, January 2, 2023, were a clear attempt to mislead and delay investigators. The fact that he was asked a specific question and he gave an untruthful answer that led investigators out of the area caused a clear delay in the search for the missing person, Ana Walshe."

A "not guilty plea" was entered on his behalf, and his legal team insisted the alarm was only raised by Ana Walshe's bosses because Brian Walshe had contacted them as he was worried that he hadn't heard from his wife.

The judge set bail at $500,000 cash and scheduled the next hearing for February 9.

Meanwhile, investigators allege that an internet search carried out at the home—which the couple share with their three young children, all under the age of 6—had queried "how to dispose of a 115-pound woman's body."

Brian Walshe was under house arrest at the time of his wife's disappearance after confessing last year to wire fraud, over a scheme in which he sold fake Andy Warhol paintings. He had been placed under house arrest while the courts determined his sentence for the crime.

Ana Walshe grew up in Belgrade and reportedly has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Serbia. Authorities describe her as being 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 115 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion. They say she speaks with an eastern European accent. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact Cohasset Police.

On Saturday, a joint police statement released about the investigation said a search of woodland near Ana Walsh's home had "concluded" and added: "[Massachusetts] State Police and Cohasset Police detectives continue to undertake various investigative actions to determine Ms. Walshe's whereabouts."

Newsweek has reached out to Cohasset Police for further information.