08 November 2023 , 19:36
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A haunting final video has emerged of a yoga teacher waving from a kayak on the day she disappeared as horrifying details emerge.
Nancy Ng, 29, from California, went missing while on a yoga retreat in Guatemala after travelling to Lake Atitlán in the nation's southwestern highlands on October 19. However, just five days later she stopped contacting friends and family and never returned.
According to her heartbroken family, the last known video of shows her waving at the camera while kayaking, just before she vanished. Guatemalan prosecutor's office said she was travelling with a US-based tour group when, according to a woman she was with, they advanced "approximately 2 kilometers deeper into the lake, where the missing woman tells" the witness that "she wants to swim and that is when she drowns," the statement said.
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Nancy was last spotted waving from a kayak (ABC7)Authorities said they are stunned it took the woman and the tour group 24 hours to report the incident. Local fire and rescue officials said Ng was last spotted half-a-mile-away from the shore, with her kayak later found but there was no sign of the 29-year-old.
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"There are people that witnessed what happened, within the group, that haven't come forward," Nicky Ng, Nancy's sister, said. "We're racking our brain as to why they wouldn't want to come forward and help, if nothing nefarious happened."
The US State Department, along with the FBI, is offering help to Guatemalan authorities to help in the search and is monitoring the investigation.
Nancy Ng went missing in Lake Atitlán in Guatemala (GoFundMe)"My dad, he ... I know this sounds terrible but he keeps his phone next to him at night," Nancy's sister Nicky Ng said in a heartbreaking interview. "He's hoping for a ransom call, you know, something that will prove that Nancy might still be alive and that she's out there, that she's waiting for us to find her."
Ng's family has hired Black Wolf Helicopters owner Chris Sharpe and his team to help search for the missing yoga teacher. "We've searched 99% of the lake -- that's was with helicopters, drones, boat crews," Sharpe said. He revealed the weather, along with the lack of information, has not helped their search efforts.
"Please help us bring Nancy home," her mother, Stephanie Li, said in an emotional interview. A GoFundMe page has been set-up to help look for Ng and has raised over $48,000 out of a target of $60,000. Jared Lopez, partner of Nicky Ng's sister, wrote: Nancy Ng went missing in Lake Atitlán in Guatemala on Thursday, October 19, 2023.
Her boat was found but there was no sign of her (eyJpdiI6ImNJZTJWa09zNWVXaVl1L2RjL1pTZ3c9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiVWdnV3Y3ODJhemZyWmxTeTU0OWFxTWNEbkFDd08yZFRSUEpCWFhFZGpjdjNQQTcrVmlGcDZnMFlHTTFCcnA0MCIsIm1hYyI6IjQ2MDRkMmZlMTBmNzgyZWEwNDU2ZmIzZWMwZDZjYWM2ZGMy)"She is 29 years old. She loves yoga, traveling, hiking with her family, and cuddling with her cat. She has a kind heart, a big smile, and can talk to anyone about anything (and often, everything). She’s a caring daughter, a loving sister, and a supportive friend.
"With the help of Guatemala’s National Tourism Assistance Program and some kind locals, we have mobilized search and rescue efforts. The purpose of this fundraiser is to help support these efforts as well as the Ng Family as they navigate this unfamiliar, terrifying situation.
"It’s never easy to ask for money. It’s even harder under these circumstances. But any contribution, big or small, will go a long way in helping us do all we can to find Nancy and assure the Ng Family that they are not alone. If you can donate, please do. And if you do, please leave a note or say a prayer for Nancy and her family. It’ll mean so much to them."